


Unorthodox

by AllAboutFnaf



Series: Venom and the Avengers [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Avengers meet Venom, BAMF Anne Weying, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner is a sweetheart, Ceiling Vent Clint Barton, Dan Lewis is also the hero we all deserve, Deadpool is also a little shit, Deaf Clint, Eddie is king of snark, Eddie just wants a nap, Graphic Descriptions of Eating People, Happy Ending, It is not socially acceptable to eat people, M/M, Misunderstandings, No major violence, Peter and Shuri are meme lords, Prankster trio, Scott Lang is the hero we all deserve, Venom and Eddie are saps, Venom just wants to be left alone, but we love him, dont mess with anne weying, eddie is Tired, here comes the chaos trio, hinted jewish bucky barnes, hinted jewish peter parker, little angst, loki is a little shit, minimal violence, quite a bit of fluff, the only violence is Venom eating people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-08 17:03:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 42,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17390243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllAboutFnaf/pseuds/AllAboutFnaf
Summary: A few months after defeating Thanos, the Avengers are called out to San Francisco, where there are reports of a tar-like alien eating people. None of them are sure what to make of it, but bodies are dropping by the dozens and they're determined to get to the bottom of it. And that's when they stumble onto Eddie Brock, a 40 year old journalist with a dark secret in tow.





	1. Aliens in San Francisco

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to see what it would be like for the Avengers to meet Venom, so I finally decided to do my own take on it. There's gonna be slow updates for a while, as I am still writing/planning it and I'm trying not to accidentally copy anyone else's fic. Also I am in the middle of binge-watching the MCU movies so there might be a few inaccuracies, as I have not seen all of the MCU movies yet. Regardless, I hope you enjoy

“So what's this whole case about again?” Steve questioned, drumming a pencil on the desk in the conference room of Stark Tower. Tony had called everyone into an emergency meeting, exclaiming that the police in San Francisco had begged him to take a case. 

Steve was sitting by the table, holding a pen in his hands. Bucky was sitting right next to him, aimlessly poking at Steve’s hair with his right arm, as he wasn't wearing the prosthetic arm that Shuri had made for him. Sam sat on the opposite side of Steve, scrolling through his phone. Natasha sat on the opposite side of the table, absentmindedly drawing swirls on a piece of paper with a pen. Clint sat in a corner, softly thrumming an arrow in his hand. All in all, only Steve seemed invested in what Tony had to say.

 

“Something to do with aliens.” Tony replied, tapping away at the holographic keyboard. “San Francisco PD contacted me a day ago, said they were suspicious that an alien they thought to be dead was actually alive, and dropping bodies.” 

 

Tony then pulled up a picture of a humanoid creature, standing back to let everyone in the room view it. It looked like a man, except it was nearly a staggering ten feet tall and looked to be made of tar, or some similar substance. Not to mention, it had silvery white eyes and long, sharp, jagged teeth, along with a terrifyingly long tongue. The Avengers hadn't seen anything like it before. Everyone in the room stared at the creature, questions hanging in mid air.

 

“What the hell is that thing?” Natasha asked incredulously, breaking the silence and voicing a question that nearly everyone in the room had. She wasn't typically disturbed by much, but whatever creature was on the screen seemed a bit intimidating, even to her.

 

“It says here that's it's called a symbiote. Basically, it's an alien, an alien that is bonded to a human host.” Tony explained. “San Fran PD says they believe it died two months ago in an accident, but they now have evidence to suggest it's still alive, and they want us to handle it.”

 

“Sounds fun.” Droned Bucky, who wasn't particularly interested in the conversation. Steve had dragged him into the meeting, insisting Bucky needed to do something while living at Stark Tower. Bucky wasn't particularly pleased.

 

Tony tilted his head, a bit of a knowing laugh escaping his mouth. “Yeah, well, San Fran PD is pretty frantic to stop the killings, so they want us to fly there as soon as possible.”

 

Clint, who had started listening intently after bodies were mentioned, lifted his head at that statement. “How many bodies are there?” He asked.

 

Tony’s eyes scanned through the information he had been sent. “So far, at least a dozen, but police suspect there might be a total of two dozen.”

 

Natasha huffed slightly, sitting up somewhat in her seat. “I can see why they want us to fly out there so badly.” She ran a hand through her hair, then took another glance at the picture. “Did they say what the cause of death has been?”

 

Tony pulled up a file he had been sent, and scanned through it. “Police have been finding the bodies with the heads cut clean off. They don't know how, but they are finding teeth marks on the bodies, so you can venture to guess how the heads are disappearing.”

 

“Man eating alien, hm?” Commented Sam, who was sitting next to Steve and tapping his fingers on the desk. “We should probably get some more information on this alien. It's not really best to go in blind.”

 

“I’ve been contacting anyone I can get ahold of to ask about these symbiotes. The only person who knew a lot about them is dead.” Tony pulled up a different picture, one of a man. “This is Carlton Drake. He ran illegal human experiments on homeless people using these aliens. He died in a rocket crash two months ago, the same crash that was believed to have killed the alien we’ve been assigned to take care of.”

 

Clint, who was sitting in the corner, shook his head disapprovingly. “Human experiments, hm?”

 

“Well, I’m gonna keep trying to get ahold of someone who knows something about these aliens. In the meantime, we should all pack and get ready to fly out to California.” Tony remarked, and everyone nodded. “Alright, let's do this.”

 

With that, most of them left the room, but Natasha stuck behind as Tony clicked away at the keyboard.

 

“Doesn't an alien seem a bit strange?” Natasha remarked, glancing at the photo again. “I mean, we’ve faced aliens before, but nothing like this…. this thing.”

 

“Yeah, well, our lives themselves are strange, aren't they? An alien shouldn't be too hard to take care of.”

 

“I’m just saying, you said it was bonded to a person. An alien I can deal with, but said alien having a human host adds a whole new layer onto this case.”

 

“Exactly why I’m calling in some backup,” Tony remarked, pulling up messages on his computer, “because we’ll need more than our regular team for this one.”

 

~~~~~

 

Peter pulled one of his earbuds out of his ears as soon as he heard the word ‘alien’. Aliens had always been somewhat of a strange concept to him, and they had always been fascinating to him. So when Tony dragged him to Stark Towers and told him that there was a man-eating alien in California, Peter was more than a little intrigued.

 

“There's an alien in San Francisco?” Peter asked, looking at Tony, who nodded. Peter gripped his phone slightly, his eyebrows raising a bit in surprise.

 

“Yes, and we're gonna need you to come with us to San Francisco to get him.” Tony replied. He didn't seem too phased by the whole situation; despite dealing with aliens before, Tony didn't particularly believe that they were dealing with anything dangerous. How hard could it be to fight an alien bonded to a human? And man, that poor human, thought Tony.

 

“Oh sweet! I’ve always wanted to go to San Francisco!” Peter exclaimed. As excitement flowed through him, a fleeting worry also shot through his mind; he had exam reviews all next week at school. “Are we gonna come back here afterwards? I kinda have exam reviews that I can't miss.”

 

Tony smiled, glancing briefly at Peter while he walked down the long hallway. “We’re gonna go there, capture this alien and come back here. Figure out a way to get it out of whatever poor person it's inhabiting.” Tony replied, stretching his arms a bit. He opened the door to a room on one of the many floors of Stark Tower. Tony walked in, and Peter followed, typing a quick text to Ned and May. If he disappeared again without saying anything, May’d have his head. Well, his or Tony’s. And Ned would just pout at him, and Peter would rather not see Ned pout. Peter never liked seeing Ned upset.

 

“Oh, I’m gonna need to pack.” Peter exclaimed, looking around at the empty room. “I don't have a change of clothes or anything like that here.”

 

“I had Happy pack you some stuff, you can pack anything else you’ll need. We’re flying out tonight.” Tony stood up and walked out of the room, and shot one last glance to Peter. “I’ll come in and check on your progress in an hour. Try and be ready by 6.”

 

“Yes sir, Mr. Stark!” Peter cried, and Tony smiled. And with that, he was gone.

 

~~~~~

 

_**Hungry.** _

 

Eddie sighed as the all-too familiar voice of Venom filled his head. “We just got a head two days ago, bud, remember?”

 

_**Need a head every three or so days.**_ Venom remarked. _ **Otherwise, we might-** _

 

“Might munch on my internal organs, yeah, I know. Nothing you can't reverse, right?” Eddie sighed, pulling up his computer. “We should start looking for heads in other cities. We’re attracting a lot of attention. Wouldn't want some superhero trying to put us down.”

 

_**They wouldn't have a chance.**_ Venom rumbled. _ **We wouldn't let them harm us.**_

 

“I know you wouldn't, bud.” Eddie pressed a kiss to Venom, who was materialized over his shoulder. Eddie felt a shiver of happiness from that small gesture, and he smiled. “Alright, let me finish this article and we’ll run over to another city and find a bad guy.”

 

Eddie felt a surge of happiness thrum through their bond, and he smiled. As disgusting as it was to eat people, it was well worth it for how happy it made Venom. Not to mention the stellar side effects- Eddie had never had such strength in his life. And the feeling of safety and protection that came from being suited up was also quite pleasant. Eddie figured there were worse situations than being bonded to an alien. God knows it may have gotten him into a whole shitload of bad situations, but the benefits were worth it. Besides, he loved Venom too much to let him go.

 

Eddie typed away on his computer for nearly two undivided hours, until he finally finished his article. Yawning, he stood up to stretch, but stopped when Venom darted out a few tendrils and began massaging Eddie’s shoulders and upper back.

 

“Thanks bud.” Eddie hummed, pouring himself a cup of water. “Alright, I guess it's time to go head hunting, huh?”

 

_**Yes. Need food.** _

 

“Alright. Let's drive over to Oakland, find someone there. We can't just keep finding bad guys in San Fran.”

 

_**Alright.** _

 

Eddie walked outside, hopped on his bike, and drove all the way to Oakland. He decided to prowl the alleys, as he had found through his two months with Venom that alleys were a gathering place for crime. As Eddie walked from alley to alley, he heard a scream nearby and raced towards it. There, at the source of the scream, he found a woman laying on the ground, a man standing above her with a woman at his side. Eddie grabbed the man by the shoulder and nearly threw him into the wall, and Venom shot the second woman down before she could hit Eddie. Then, as Venom held the two criminals against the wall, Eddie helped the woman on the ground up.

 

“Thank you, thank you.” She huffed, clutching at her chest. She grabbed the purse and wallet that had been discarded on the ground, and she turned and ran. Eddie took the time to turn and face the two criminals, who were staring at him and Venom with wide eyes. Venom then crawled all over Eddie’s body, engulfing him until not a speck of his skin was visible, and it was all Venom. Perhaps in a bought of mercy, Venom knocked both of the criminals out at the same time before killing them, so one wouldn't have to witness the other die.

 

Suddenly, Venom clamped down onto the poor man’s neck. Teeth met bone, and Eddie recoiled slightly as blood poured from the man’s neck and down onto Venom. Venom quickly devoured the man’s head, and moved onto the woman, ripping her head off in a matter of seconds. As both bodies fell to the ground, Venom relished the taste of the heads of the two fuckers they had just eaten. However, still not satisfied, Venom tore out a few organs from both bodies, devoured them, then walked Eddie back to his bike.

 

“Why’d you eat so much?” Eddie hissed, revving his bike and driving onto the road.

 

_**You said you didn't want attention. By eating a lot just now, we won't have to eat for at least three days. May even be able to hold off for four days.** _

 

“Oh. Well, thanks then, bud.”

 

_**You are welcome, Eddie.** _

 

Eddie gripped the handlebars of his bike and revved it as he sped back towards San Francisco, hoping to not run into much trouble. However, with Venom at his side, Eddie seemed to attract nothing but trouble.


	2. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers land in San Francisco, and they start planning. Eddie gets nervous and calls Anne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so amazed at the positivity you guys have been giving the first chapter! I was gonna hold out on updating this story until Saturday, but I couldn't wait! I think I'm more excited to update this story than you guys are to read it, tbh. It's turning out really well, so hopefully y'all will enjoy it. Still figuring out the ending, though

“Alright, is everyone ready?” Tony cried, glancing at all the people stuffed inside one of his private planes. In response came chorus of yeahs from all across the room, and Tony clapped his hands together. “Alright, this thing has been primarily feeding on San Francisco, but Oakland PD found two bodies that they believe to be the work of this creature. Same MO- heads gone, though a few organs were missing as well, which is rare, but some of the other victims were found the same way. Anyways, our best bet is to stick to the crime infested parts of San Francisco. Apparently, at least eighty percent of this creature's victims are either criminals or just plain assholes.”

 

“At least it's going after bad guys, hm?” Natasha remarked, flicking at a pen.

 

“Still killing people, Tasha.” Clint reminded.

 

“I never said I approved. I’m just saying, at least this thing isn't killing random and innocent civilians.”

 

“Yeah well, we’ll still need to find and capture this thing. I’d vote for killing it, but it's bonded to a human, so I wanna save that person before we do anything to the alien.” Tony commented, sitting down in front of one of his holographs. He was still scrolling through articles of the mysterious alien creature.

 

Peter, who was sitting in the far corner, a bit intimidated by all the important heroes he was with (but excited nonetheless) was scrolling through Buzzfeed articles about the creature. The creature did look strangely similar to his suit; perhaps it was simply the eye shape. Whatever it was, it both intrigued and disturbed Peter.

 

The flight from New York to San Francisco wasn't actually all that long, surprisingly. Most of the people on board, such as Tony, Clint, Natasha and Sam entertained themselves by watching movies. Peter was watching vines and shooting obscure references to Steve and Bucky, whom he had challenged to see how many references they knew. Steve had surprisingly caught up on a lot, but Bucky was still slightly behind. Peter also bonded with the two over dark, fatalistic humor.

 

However, the plane eventually landed in San Francisco, on a private airfield specifically for the Avengers to use.

 

“Alright, we’ll be staying at one of my estates here. We’ll spend tonight gathering up more information and analyzing the most recent attacks, and then we’ll hunt this thing down tomorrow, or even tonight if it decides to attack again.” Tony explained, as everyone walked out onto the airfield. Everyone nodded and they all headed to the estate.

 

It took them nearly an hour to get to the estate, as the traffic was horrible. With all the panic of bodies turning up, quite a few people were fleeing, and thus the traffic was worse than usual. Still, they reached the estate with little problem, and everyone quickly settled in.

 

There were a total of six bedrooms, and a total of seven people. However, Steve and Bucky had already arranged sleeping together in the same room, and thus everyone else got their own room. As per Tony’s request, however, everyone stayed up for a while to look over details relating to the case. Peter was the last person, besides Tony, to go to bed. Tony ended up staying up until two am, when he was finally persuaded to go to bed by a nagging Peter.

 

~~~~~

 

“Oh crap.”

 

 _ **What? What is it Eddie?**_ Venom asked. There was a bit of tenderness in the symbiotes voice, perhaps because it picked up on the rush of fear Eddie had just felt.

 

“The Avengers landed in San Francisco.” Eddie whispered, dread filling his voice. This is exactly what he’d feared would happen. Now Eddie wasn’t oblivious; he had heard of all the fights the Avengers had had over the years. He knew what they could do. He knew what could happen if he and Venom weren’t careful.

 

 _ **Superheroes?**_ Venom asked. Eddie nodded, and Venom tensed in thought. _**They’re here for us.**_

 

“I’m afraid they are, love.” Eddie murmured, a bit of anxiety still lingering in his voice.

 

 _ **No need for worry. We won’t let them harm us.**_ A tendril snaked out of Eddie’s back, wrapping around Eddie’s cheek as Venom formed itself around Eddie’s torso, to wrap him in a hug. _**They won’t harm us.**_

 

Eddie relaxed into the warm feeling of Venom engulfing his torso. It was strange, strange that a man-eating alien who could easily kill him could make him feel so safe, but Venom really did make Eddie feel safe. Safer than he had felt in years.

 

“I’m gonna call Anne, okay bud? I know nothing will happen to us, but I still gotta warn Anne.”

 

_**That is fine with us.** _

 

Eddie smiled as he picked up the phone and dialed Anne’s number. She picked up within seconds.

 

“Eddie? What’s up?”

 

“I don’t know if you’ve heard yet, but the Avengers landed in San Fran last night.”

 

Anne was quiet for a moment before answering. “The Avengers? And let me guess, you’re thinking they’re here for you and Venom?” Anne had found out that Venom was alive only weeks after their supposed death. She hadn’t been too happy that Eddie had kept it from her, but she still lent her support to Eddie whenever he needed it.

 

“They gotta be. A man-eating alien? They’re superheroes, they’d never pass up a chance to catch a so-called ‘villain’ like Venom and I.”

 

“Eddie, you and Venom are not villains.”

 

“Not in your eyes, but definitely in theirs.”

 

Anne sighed. “Do you want to hide out for a few days? I know a place you can stay.”

 

“No thanks. I’m sure they’re gonna want to question me, so if I just up and leave, they’ll think it suspicious.” Eddie took a moment to run a finger over Venom, who hugged him even tighter. “I’m probably already high on their list. If I suddenly vanish, I become number one on that list.”

 

“Alright well, call me if you change your mind, okay? And be careful Eddie. If you go out anywhere, please call me, so that way if anything happens I’ll be able to come find you.”

 

“I will. Thanks Anne.”

 

“You’re welcome Eddie.”

 

The call ended just moments later, and the second it was over, Eddie felt Venom rush up over him. It took Eddie by surprise, and he nearly fell over. Suddenly, his whole body (minus his face) was covered by Venom, in what was practically a full body hug. Venom soon retracted and remained covering Eddie’s torso.

 

“Were you trying to hug me, bud?”

 

_**You’re uneasy. Was trying to make you feel better.** _

 

Eddie smiled, and caressed Venom until they formed their head above Eddie’s shoulder. “Thank you, V.” Eddie murmured, pressing a kiss to Venom.

 

_**You are welcome, Eddie.** _

 

~~~~~

 

“Hey guys, I think I found something.” Tony announced, catching the attention of Steve, Bucky and Natasha, who were in the room with him. Everyone else was eating, but Natasha signaled for them to come over and they did.

 

“What did you find?” Natasha questioned, peering over Tony’s shoulder.

 

“I found out the name of the man the alien was believed to be bonded to.”

 

“What’s his name?” Clint remarked.

 

“Eddie Brock. A 40 year old journalist who lost his job chasing down Carlton Drake. It was believed by a few officials that Eddie was somehow involved in the whole alien thing, perhaps unwillingly. All they really know is that he was present at Life Foundation at the time of the accident.” Tony relayed the information on the screen in front of him, and paused when a small beep caught his attention. His phone buzzed with a text, and his face lit up. “Our backup’s here. Natasha, can you continue going over the information I gave you? Peter, you can come with me to pick the others up from the airfield.” Natasha nodded, and Peter punched the air in joy.

 

The others stayed behind with Natasha, going over the names of everyone involved in the entire case, while Tony took Peter to go pick the others up.

 

The people Tony had called in as backup were already off the plane by the time Tony and Peter got there. As Tony and Peter walked up to the plane, Shuri locked eyes with Peter and yelled “THIS BITCH EMPTY” before Peter screamed “YEET” back and ran to hug his friend. Tony sighed and shook his head.

 

“It’s nice to see you Tony.” Dr. Strange commented, glancing at Tony while Peter and Shuri hugged in the background.

 

“It’s nice to see you too, Strange.”

 

“Man of Iron!” Cried Thor, who had his arm wrapped around Bruce. “It has been too long!”

 

“Thor! It’s good to see you. How’s New Asgard doing?”

 

“It is prospering well, thanks to your generous offers.” Thor replied happily. After the whole Ragnarok event, Thor had brought his people back to Earth and settled on a giant plot of land that Tony bought for him. Thor had been spending almost all of his time in the new city, teaching his people Midgardian manners and rules.

 

“You called us here for an alien, right?” Bruce remarked, glancing at Tony. Tony nodded, and Bruce sighed. “Well, as long as I don’t have to physically fight this alien, I’m good.”

 

“You can help with the information gathering. You and Shuri.” Tony replied, glancing at Shuri, who was excitedly talking to Peter. “And Thor, did you bring the person I asked?”

 

Thor nodded and turned to reveal Loki, who had been dragged with Thor simply due to his knowledge of Klyntars. Valkyrie, who had come simply to keep an eye on Loki, stood behind him. “It’s nice to meet you, Stark.” She remarked, glancing at Tony, who nodded.

 

“So, there is a Klyntar in San Francisco?” Loki murmured, glancing at the sky. “I wouldn’t have imagined a Klyntar targeting this city, but I guess it is suitable.”

 

“What do you mean, suitable?” Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“I’d rather not relay information twice, so I’ll answer that when everyone on this mission is present.” Loki answered. “Now can we get to whatever estate you have here? I’m not a fan of planes or airfields.”

 

Tony sighed exasperatedly and motioned for everyone to follow him. Tony, Peter, Shuri and Dr. Strange took one car, while Thor, Bruce, Valkyrie and Loki took the other. They got back to Tony’s estate rather quickly.

 

“I’m back! Get any more good information?” Tony cried as he walked through the front door. Natasha’s head bounced up, and she made her way over to him.

 

“I got Brock’s address. Two of us can go and question him.”

 

“Perfect. Alright, everyone gather in the same room and we can talk battle plan.

 

Natasha whistled, catching everyone’s attention, and everyone soon packed into one room.

 

“Now, Loki, may you relay that bit of information you held back earlier?”

 

Loki sighed. “Well, Klyntars are quite a dangerous species. They are not used to an oxygen-rich environment, so they need hosts, respiratory hosts, to survive. They are a lot like parasites; they come in, drain all nearby resources and move onto the next place. I’ve also heard that they reproduce asexually, so they can multiply quickly when they need to.”

 

“They’re also ferocious fighters.” Thor pitched in. “I once faced a Klyntar in battle a few decades ago. They’re vicious, unrelenting, and insanely ruthless.”

 

“Yes, and they’re also quite complicated. Half of them will simply drop their hosts and find a new one when the need arises, and the other half will protect their hosts to the death. After all, they cannot survive without a host. And, from what I’ve gathered, it’s hard for them to find good hosts.” Loki explained. “I don’t know exactly, but I think their host has to be an exact match to them. Otherwise, the host dies.”

 

“How many of these things have you faced?” Clint questioned, glancing disapprovingly at Loki.

 

“I have faced none.” Loki remarked. “But, it is quite easy to gather information on aliens when you’re in space. I’ve run across quite a few refugees from planets attacked by Klyntars. You’d be surprised how much they will talk about the Klyntars.”

 

Clint huffed slightly, but his attention was soon diverted by Tony, who had stood up. “Alright well, we’re gonna have to go question that Eddie Brock and anyone else who was involved in the case. Natasha, did you find any others who were connected to the case?”

 

“The only other people connected to the case who are still alive are a few security guards, the ex-fiancee of Eddie Brock and her new boyfriend.” Natasha relayed, glancing at Tony. “We’ll need someone to question them.”

 

“Alright, let’s see.” Tony murmured, glancing around the room. “Steve and Clint, you two can talk to the ex-fiancee. Natasha, you and Strange can talk to Eddie. Peter, Shuri, Loki, Thor, Bucky, I’m gonna need you to put all the information we have together and form a plan. Sam, Bruce, you two can talk to some of the people that know that Brock guy. We can squeeze out some additional information that way. Now, those who are gonna go out and interrogate should get disguises. I’m gonna help put together a plan.”

 

Everyone nodded and immediately went to work. Natasha. Steve, Clint, Strange, Sam and Bruce immediately began disguising themselves.

 

“Now, Natasha and Strange, you two should be extra careful to disguise yourself. If this man really is carrying an alien, he’ll probably be on high-alert. Steve and Clint, you two should also be careful. The ex-fiancee may be in on everything, so she might tell Brock if she suspects anything.”

 

“Duly noted.” Natasha remarked, grabbing her wallet. “I’m gonna go and buy a wig and some contacts. This Brock guy probably is on high-alert.”

 

Strange followed her and the two left to go and get proper disguises. Steve and Clint soon headed out to get disguises as well, and soon, everyone in the estate was busy doing something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you might be wondering how Eddie found out the Avengers left New York City and landed in San Francisco. Lemme just say, he has an ally in both cities that know quite a bit about the Avengers, and you'll see who those two are eventually ;)
> 
>  
> 
> Edit: Also, I truly do appreciate the thought, but please do not leave me any critiques on this story. Thank you :)
> 
> Second edit: I want to add that this story is heavily inspired by immortalpoptart's story Disturbed Peace & Simple Love, so if you like this story, I definitely recommend checking their story out!


	3. Questions and answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The interrogation squad goes out posing as reporters to get information from Eddie, Anne, and Dan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay seriously you people need to stop, all this positivity is really making me want to update once a day and it's taking everything in my power to not update once a day. You guys are so amazing and giving this story so much love and I'm so happy you love it so much!!! I really cannot explain how happy your feedback makes me. Thank you all so much!!! The action is coming, don't y'all worry. This chapter focuses almost entirely on just interrogation, but the action is coming!!!

Natasha carefully lifted her hand and rapped her knuckles on the door of the run-down apartment that Eddie Brock was said to inhabit. Not even a moment after she knocked, a muffled “I’m coming!” came through the door, and she took a step back, twirling a strand of the wig she was wearing in her fingers. She had chosen a long, ash blonde wig and gray blue contacts, along with glasses and (reluctantly) some makeup. She was wearing a large hoodie, a loose gray blouse, jeans and some heeled beige boots.  
Meanwhile, Strange had put on a light brown wig and hazel contacts. He had tugged on a plaid jacket, plain red shirt and jeans, in an attempt to look casual. He knew it was best to not arouse any sort of suspicion.

 

The door soon flew open, revealing a disheveled, unshaven man with wild brown hair and wide eyes, dressed in a gray sweater and jeans. He paused, then leaned slightly against the run-down door frame, taking in Natasha and Strange’s appearance. “More reporters?” He questioned, glancing at the paper and pen in Natasha’s hand.

 

“Hello, Mr. Brock. My name is Naomi, and this is August. We’re working a story and would like to ask you some questions.” Natasha replied calmly.

 

“You could always just look at police reports or other articles.” Eddie mumbled, sighing. The tiredness was evident in his voice. “I’ve had my share of reporters come ‘round, asking questions. It’s rather tiring.”

 

“We won’t take long. We just have a few questions.” Strange reassured. Eddie gave him a quizzical glance, his gray blue eyes narrowing and scanning the length of Strange’s face, but he eventually sighed and held the door open.

 

“Alright. Ten minutes tops. I’m meeting up with someone later today.”

 

Natasha and Strange walked into the dingy apartment, taking quick glances around the place. Crumbs of food scattered the floor, along with discarded plates and torn napkins. The trashcan was loaded with takeout boxes and chocolate wrappers, and an uneaten, slightly burned plate of tater tots rested on the table. Eddie gestured to the table, and Natasha and Strange sat down.

 

“Now, what did you want to ask me about? Let me guess, the whole Life Foundation fiasco.” Eddie remarked, and Natasha nodded. “Alright, shoot.”

 

“We’ve heard rumors of aliens. Are those rumors true?” Strange questioned, and Eddie sighed, making it clear the topic was not one he was a fan of.

 

“As I’ve said many times before, I’m not sure.” Eddie remarked, rubbing his eyes. “I was dealing with undiagnosed schizophrenia at the time, so I’m not really sure what was real and what wasn’t. I can tell you, though, that something foul was going on in that place. Someone I knew tried to bring attention to it, and she died.” Eddie sighed again, and Natasha noticed a slight tremor in his voice as he continued to speak. “My memory of everything that happened isn’t that great. I was going through a lot of shit then. Still am.”

 

“We understand.” Natasha remarked, studying Eddie’s expression. There seemed to be a hint of anxiety in his body language, as well as movements that clearly told Natasha that Eddie just wanted the whole conversation to be over with. “What else can you tell us about the incident? Is there anything in particular you remember?”

 

“I remember Carlton Drake thought I stole something of his, and he sent a whole army of drones after me. And kidnapped me from a hospital. Other than that, not much.” Eddie admitted. His hands began to twitch ever so slightly. “I do also remember that Carlton was coaxing homeless people into signing stuff they didn’t understand, and they’d end up dead. He even got my friend Maria. She died.”

 

“We’re very sorry for your loss.” Strange mused, and the remark seemed to put Eddie at ease somewhat.

 

“Thanks. Is there anything else?”

 

“Nope, I think we’ve pretty much covered everything.” Natasha spoke. “Thank you for lending us your time, Mr. Brock.”

 

“No problem.” He replied, relief spreading across his face. “It was my pleasure.”

 

~~~~~

 

Steve raised his hand and knocked politely on the door of the nice-looking apartment belong to Anne Weying, the ex-fiancée of Eddie Brock whom he and Clint had been sent to question posing as reporters. Steve, taking the disguise thing seriously, had donned a dark brown wig, hazel contacts and glasses, along with a slightly oversized hoodie, loose-fitting black shirt and jeans. Clint, however, had simply put on a ballcap, glasses and a black wig, along with a pair of jeans and a loose fitting gray shirt.

 

The door soon opened to reveal a neatly dressed blonde woman, who took one glance at Steve and Clint and sighed. “Reporters?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. Steve nodded, and the woman huffed slightly and held the door open. “Come on in.”

 

“Who’s this, Anne?” Dan questioned, glancing at Steve and Clint, who stood awkwardly in the center of the neat looking room.

 

“My name’s Ian, and this is Zach. We’re reporters, here to ask a few questions about the Life Foundation case.” Clint spoke, and Dan nodded.

 

“Alright. What do you want to know?”

 

“Can you just tell us your version of what happened?” Steve questioned, his voice steady and soft. Anne nodded, folding her legs as she sat down on the couch.

 

“Well, a lot happened, and I don’t know how to explain it all.” Anne admitted. “I’m sure you heard the alien rumors, though?” Steve nodded, and Anne sighed. “Hah, well, I guess information spreads quickly in the journalism world. Basically, one of those aliens or whatever that Drake was experimenting with latched onto my ex-fiance. Messed him up pretty bad, practically ate him from the inside out. I think it nearly destroyed his organs in the process, but as far as I know, it died in the fire.”

 

“It was really strange.” Dan spoke, sitting down next to Anne. “I mean, the thought of an alien itself is strange, but this thing was strange.”

 

“How so?” Clint questioned.

 

“Well, when it latched onto Eddie, it didn’t seem to want to leave him. It choked me when I tried to seperate it from Eddie. I did manage to separate it from Eddie though.”

 

That caught both Steve and Clint’s attention. “You did?”

 

“Yes. Turns out it’s weak to high-frequency sounds, like the sounds in an MRI. I tried giving Eddie an MRI, and it nearly killed him. He was spazzing out like I’ve never seen.” Dan relayed. “It got back into him though.”

 

“How?”

 

“It used my body to find him and got back into his body by making out with him through me.” Anne admitted. Steve and Clint paused.

 

“You were attached to one of these aliens?” Clint asked, surprise clear in his voice. Anne nodded.

 

“It wasn’t even for half an hour, but yes. As soon as it got back into Eddie’s body, they took off running towards the rocket that Carlton Drake owned. As far as I know, it died in the fire after sacrificing itself so that Eddie would live.” Anne rubbed her neck, then hastily glanced at Dan. Clearly the subject was a bit sore, but Dan didn’t seem all that upset by it.

 

“What was it like, if I may ask?” Clint questioned. Anne glanced at him, and her blue eyes seemed to scan over his body. She then closed her eyes and sighed.

 

“Oh man, I don’t even know how to describe it.” Anne exclaimed. “It felt like my senses were in overdrive, and I felt so powerful. And the alien actually spoke to me. It was really strange, like as if the voice in my head suddenly developed a conscience. And the voice sounded a lot like my own, but different. It was much deeper than my voice.” Steve bit his lip in thought, and Anne took the silence as an opportunity to stand up. “Is there anything else you want to know?”

 

“One last thing.” Clint spoke. “How did Brock react to that alien dying?”

 

“He was pretty choked up.” Anne admitted. “I knew Eddie for long enough to know that he was probably in love with that thing, or was at least falling for it. He refused to speak about it for days.”

 

“Alright. Thanks for your time, Miss Weying.”

 

Anne nodded. “It was my pleasure.”

 

~~~~~

 

“So, what information did you get?” Clint asked the minute Natasha stepped foot back in Tony’s estate. Natasha tore off her wig and tossed it aside.

 

“Well, Brock couldn’t remember much, other than that Carlton Drake was doing some messed up shit and that one of his friends died.” Natasha replied. “Brock said he was dealing with undiagnosed schizophrenia and a whole lot of other things. He did seem quite nervous, though.”

 

“Well, we got a lot from the ex-fiancée.” Clint spoke. “Her boyfriend said he managed to separate Brock from the alien, and that the alien bonded with Anne to get back to Eddie.”

 

Natasha and Strange both paused. “They seperated Brock from the alien? So Brock was bonded to the alien at some point?”

 

“As far as I can tell, yeah. We also learned one of the alien’s weaknesses, so I want to tell Tony and the others when Sam and Bruce get back.”

 

“I’m gonna call them right now to see where they are.” Natasha spoke, walking hastily out of the room and pulling her phone out. The other three watched her, as she hastily spoke into her phone and soon walked back. “They’re on their way back, and they say they got some important info while they were out.”

 

“Alright, let’s call a meeting then.”

 

Natasha nodded and typed something into her phone, then walked off without another word. Steve, Strange and Clint all followed her into the meeting room of the estate, and there they waited for the others to arrive.  
Approximately fifteen minutes passed before everyone had crowded into the meeting room. Tony sat in the biggest chair, facing the others. Natasha sat sandwiched between Strange and Clint, with Steve and Bucky sitting on the other side of Clint. Sam and Bruce sat on the opposite side of the table, and Thor sat next to Bruce, holding his arm and stroking it gently, as if to keep him calm. Loki, Peter and Shuri sat in bean bags that Loki had conjured up into the room (despite Tony’s protests) while Valkyrie sat right next to the door, her eyes watching Loki like a hawk.

 

“Alright, Natasha and Strange, what information did you two get from Brock?” Tony questioned, and Natasha straightened.

 

“Well, Brock claimed to be suffering from undiagnosed schizophrenia during the whole ordeal, and so he says he doesn’t know what was real and what wasn’t. However, he said that two people he knew died from whatever Drake was doing.” She paused, glancing briefly at her hands. “He was very nervous. I could tell that he wanted nothing more than for our conversation to end.”

 

“Interesting. Steve, Clint, what did you two get from the ex-fiancée?”

 

“Well, she gave us a lot more than Brock did.” Clint responded. “She said that one of those aliens latched onto Brock, that it bonded to him. Her current boyfriend managed to separate Brock from the alien, though. Apparently it’s weak to high-frequency sounds. That Dan guy said that he tried to give Brock a MRI, and Brock spazzed out as though he were being electrocuted.” Clint paused, then continued on. “The ex-fiancée did say that the alien bonded to her briefly to get back to Brock, and that it made out with him of all things. Then she said it died in the fire, and that Brock refused to talk about it for days, as though he was mourning the alien.”

 

“It made out with him?” Loki asked incredulously from his bean bag. Clint nodded, and Loki paused, looking deep in thought. “That’s rather unusual. I’ve never heard of a Klyntar developing feelings.”

 

“Yeah well, it sounds like that alien wasn’t the only one developing feelings.” Steve remarked, the tone of his voice making it seem as though even he didn’t believe what he was about to say. “Weying said she thinks Brock was in love with the alien.”

 

“Still, this is highly unusual.” Loki commented, brushing away a strand of his dark hair. “I’ve heard much about Klyntar relationships. They kill their own, abandon their young, and they never date. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a Klyntar falling in love.”

 

“The ex-fiancée said that Brock mourned the alien?” Sam questioned, and Steve nodded. “That goes completely against what we got from the woman we talked to, Mrs. Chen. She said she saw the alien weeks after its supposed death, basically confirming that the alien is still alive.”

 

Nearly everyone fell silent at that. Finally, Tony spoke up. “Some woman saw the alien?”

 

“She sure saw it alright. She said that alien bit the head right off of a man who had been terrorizing her for months. This guy, whoever he was, had been demanding cash from her and putting a gun to her face to make her comply. One night Brock walked into the store, and that alien showed up too and bit the dude’s head clean off. She even said she saw the alien bonded to Eddie. He referred to it as a parasite.”

 

“So the alien really is still alive.” Tony murmured. “Well, we’re gonna need to bring Brock in, then.”

 

“How do we do that?” Natasha questioned, raising an eyebrow. “I looked up a lot in this case, and I found out that the last two times someone tried to capture Brock, he put down multiple people and bit someone’s head off. I doubt he and that alien will come easily.”

 

Clint scoffed slightly, glancing at Natasha. “When has anyone come easily?”

 

“It’s not like I called backup for no reason.” Tony informed. “We have enough people here to subdue Brock and that alien for long enough to take him into questioning.”

 

Natasha bit her lip, but nodded. She could tell Brock wasn’t going to be an easy case.

 

“Alright team, let’s suit up and go get this guy.”


	4. Search and run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Venom alerts Eddie of the Avengers, and they take off to a safe house. The Avengers discuss battle plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man you guys just do not stop with the positivity! Lucky I'm very immersed in writing this fic, huh? Haha  
> But seriously, thank y'all so much for all the comments, the kudos, all of it. It means a lot to me. And as I said last chapter, the action is coming! It's right around the corner. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter filled with long description of a safe house (you're welcome)

_**Someone’s coming.** _

 

Eddie lifted his head up, dragged out of his nap by an anxious Venom. Venom was almost never anxious.

 

_**Eddie. People are coming.** _

 

“Who?”

 

 _ **Those heroes you mentioned.**_ Venom replied. _**We’re pretty sure they’re headed here right now. We need to leave.**_

 

Eddie sighed, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes, but leapt out of bed and grabbed the emergency bag he had packed. He rapidly texted Anne, who sent him the address of the location he could hide out in for a few days. Turns out it was her grandparents house, the house that her family still owned but almost never used. Eddie ran out of his apartment, tied his bag to his back and let Venom take the wheel. Venom guided them through busy streets, weaving in and out of traffic with ease. The location was all the way in Santa Rosa, an hour away. Still, anything was better than San Francisco with the Avengers breathing down Eddie’s back. His thoughts drifted back to the reporters from the other day. Their hair and eyes were different, but the facial features of the woman reminded him of one of the Avengers, the famed Black Widow. She scared him the most. Sure, the whole super-soldier, guy in a robotic suit and a fucking god of thunder freaked Eddie out, but a woman who could take out a dozen men in under a minute was an even scarier thought. Hell, everyone on the Avengers scared him. Life was so much easier without an alien by his side, but Eddie wouldn't trade Venom for the world.

 

Crisp, cool wind blew in Eddie’s face, ruffling his short brown hair and making his eyes water just a tiny bit. This was the best part about owning a bike, Eddie thought. The feel of the wind in his face, the thrill and exhilaration of riding so freely on a freeway. It was intoxicating to him.  
An hour passed, an hour of weaving through traffic and wind blowing in his face before Eddie finally reached the safehouse. It was amazingly well-kept, despite being abandoned for ten years. Anne did say her family checked up on it a lot.

 

Shrubs lined the outside of the house, and a few vines stretched up the walls, but they were thing and not too noticeable. The grass around the house was high enough to go above Eddie’s ankles, a sign that no one had checked up on the house in months. Still, it looked quite pristine, and nicer than Eddie’s apartment.

 

“Alright bud, we’re here.” Eddie murmured, getting off his bike and setting his helmet down. He let his eyes glance over the house, the intricate patterns on the outside walls and the curves of the brick pathway to the front door. “Let's go in, shall we?”

 

 _ **Ladies first.**_ Venom joked, and Eddie rolled his eyes before walking into the empty house. Anne had managed to get electricity, running water and anything else Eddie might need for the house, thankfully.

 

Eddie glanced around the empty house. The house was clearly an abandoned one: dust sat on every piece of furniture, the air smelled of dust and the walls were barren. Still, it nothing that a itt of music and a broom couldn't fix. Listening to music had become a favorite pastime of Eddie’s; it was fun to watch Venom try and figure out the entire concept. The first time Eddie had played a song from his phone, Venom nearly broke the table. However, after a bit of explaining, Venom was now enjoying music, though Eddie did steer clear away from any hard rock or electrical music.

 

The carpet on the floor had been discarded and set against one of the walls, baring the small scratch marks on the floor from furniture being moved around. The floor was made of oak wood, unpolished and left shabby and worn. The stairs were made solely of old wood, also shabby and worn, dilapidated from years of being walked on. There were a few necessities littering the rooms, from an oil oven to a small, old washing machine and a tiny, yellowed fridge, barely tall enough to reach past Eddie’s shoulders. The cream colored wallpaper was peeling a bit at the edges, but Eddie managed to smooth it over with a single swipe of his hands. The house was a mixture of looking abandoned and looking decently taken care of. It certainly wasn’t as dilapidated as it could be, and it was just nice enough to live in, provided a few of the amenities be replaced. Not that Eddie was even going to try and live here, but it was a good safe house to live in for a few days.

 

Eddie climbed the rickety stairs and set his suitcase down and unpacked a few small things into one of the three bedrooms in the house, then pulled out his computer. Anne, with the help of an old computer technician friend of hers, had managed to teach Eddie how to use his computer without being able to be traced. Anne figured that in the case of Eddie being hunted, it was best for him to know ways to hide himself. God, what would he do without Anne.

 

Eddie pulled up Microsoft Word and opened the latest article he had been working on, the one about Cletus Kassady and the murders he had committed. Eddie was used to psychos, but this guy was just plain creepy. As Eddie began to type, Venom formed a head over Eddie’s shoulder and nuzzled Eddie’s face, causing a smile to spread over Eddie’s face.  
“Alright bud, we’re probably just gonna have to hide out here for a few days until the Avengers go back to New York, okay?”

 

 _ **Alright.**_ Venom grumbled. _**When will we be able to eat? We don't want to attract attention.**_

“Well, we ate yesterday so we should be able to hold off for four more days as long as we eat plenty of tater tots and chocolate, right?”

 

_**Yes. Need tater tots. And chocolate.** _

 

Eddie laughed, his eyes crinkling. His lips then curved upwards into a smile and his expression softened. “Alright bud.”

 

~~~~~

 

Natasha raised her hand and rapped her knuckles against the shabby door of Eddie Brock’s apartment. Instead of like last time, when a reply came almost immediately, there was only silence. Natasha knocked again, tapping her foot impatiently. Still no answer. Now completely impatient, she raised her leg and broke the door down with a single, swift kick. Strange hummed a little before he walked into the dingy apartment.

 

It was empty, a few things missing and other things scattered around. The remnants of food had all but been taken care of, and a pile of plates laid in the sink. Brock’s computer was gone, and so was Brock. Other than the missing computer and a few out of place objects, everything seemed to look just like it did the last time Natasha and Strange were here.

 

“He’s gone.” Natasha spoke into her earpiece. “His computer’s gone too, but everything else looks to be in order.”

 

“Head back then,” came Tony’s voice from the earpiece, “And we’ll figure out places he might be. And we’ll keep watch over his house.”

 

Natasha and Strange nodded and got back into the car Natasha had drove, an inconspicuous 2005 Ford Explorer. She dug the key into the ignition and drove back to Tony’s estate, driving along empty dirt roads and any other road that kept them out of sight. It took them around twenty minutes to reach the estate.

 

“Did you look at the cams outside the apartment?” Were the first words that Natasha spoke when she walked into the main room.

 

“It’s good to see you again too.” Tony remarked, holding his arms out as Strange walked towards him and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I had Shuri over here pull up the cams.”

 

“He left about half an hour before you two arrived.” Shuri spoke, her voice taking on an air of dignity and confidence, as though she had gone over this in her head a thousand times before. “On a bike. Peculiar thing is, his hands turned solid black almost as soon as he took off on the bike, from his fingertips all the way up to his elbows.”

 

“He’s definitely carrying that symbiote, then.” Natasha commented. “Did any traffic cams pick up where he went?”

 

“A few did. The last one was on Bryant street. After that, he seems to avoid all traffic cams.” Shuri responded, her eyes gazing over the screen she was looking at. “I can’t tell where he was even going.”

 

“He’s obviously trying to get the hell out of dodge.” Clint remarked, glancing over his shoulder at Natasha, cocking his head slightly. He nodded his head a little, and she did the same.

 

“He must’ve recognized us.” Natasha muttered.

 

“I sent Sam and Steve to talk to the ex-fiancee. I’m guessing Brock must’ve confided in her.” Tony remarked, twiddling a pen with his fingers. “They’ll be back in half an hour. I suggest until we find Brock, we continue digging into everything we can find concerning this creature.”

 

Everyone in the room nodded and they all went onto their respective tasks. Peter and Shuri, both tech-savvy, searched through any traffic cams they could find in the areas surrounding San Francisco, while also referencing memes under their breath and laughing. Bruce, who had begged to stay at the estate and out of the fight, sat typing away at the desk Tony had gifted him. Thor sat next to him, poking lightly at Bruce’s arm and trying get Bruce’s attention, like a lost puppy begging for food. It was a rather strange sight, but Thor had been acting like an overeager puppy around Bruce since the two returned from Asgard. It was a rather funny sight, Thor acting like a puppy towards Bruce while Loki would be in the background, fake retching. Peter and Shuri especially seemed to get a kick out of it. They’d be in the background near Loki, referencing vines.

 

Bucky was lounging around, taking a break from work while Steve was out. He laid with both arms stretched out on the couch, his eyes closed and his breathing shallow. He appeared asleep.

 

Clint too just lounged around, not particularly interested in doing anything at that moment. Rather, he would occasionally watch Natasha type away at her computer, and would spend the rest of his time texting his wife to make sure everything at home was in order.

 

Strange retreated to the small medical room Tony had added to the estate a few years prior. There, he typed away on his own computer and readied medical supplies for whatever fight that was incoming.

 

Tony took to typing away on a holographic screen, collecting more information on Brock, the alien and the Life Foundation case. He had managed to gain access to files previously inaccessible, and he was rummaging through them for any bit of useful information.

 

Half an hour passed before Sam and Steve returned from visiting Weying and her boyfriend. A few heads turned at the opening of the door.

 

“Get anything from Weying?” Tony asked, cocking his head.

 

“Nothing. Either he never confided in her or she’s really good at hiding things.” Steve replied, walking over to the couch where Bucky slept. He sat down, and Bucky stirred, his lashes fluttering as he slowly opened his eyes. He gazed up at Steve and smiled.

 

Natasha glanced up at Tony, then shifted her eyes towards Sam, and then to Steve. “I could always go talk to her.” She suggested, folding her arms.

 

“Don’t bother.” Sam spoke, placing his bag down. Natasha’s eyes roamed over to Sam. “I may not be an expert at interrogation like you, but I’ve picked up a few tricks. That woman speaks as though she believes every word out of her mouth is true. I don’t think she’d show any signs of lying if she did indeed lie.”

 

Natasha huffed, but nodded anyways. She turned and glanced at Tony, who was typing away at the holographic screen in front of him. “So then, what do you suggest we do?”

 

“We find him.” Tony replied, and he ceased typing on the screen in front of him. “He’s hiding somewhere. And all the information I can find on these symbiotes is that they need to eat, and they need to eat often. He’ll kill soon, so we just have to keep our eyes and ears open and find him when he does.”

 

Natasha lowered her eyes but nodded. And as Tony turned his attention to the rest of the people in the room, they all nodded.

 

“Now, let’s find this Eddie Brock.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, for those of you still wondering who Eddie's two allies are (besides Anne and Dan), you get to meet one of them next chapter ;)


	5. Capture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Venom demands a head, so Eddie reluctantly goes out to feed. The Avengers catch on quickly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 5! I'm really happy with all the feedback I'm getting from you guys, especially those of you saying my characterization of them is spot on! It's kinda strange considering I have yet to watch a few MCU movies, such as Age of Ultron and Dr. Strange, but then again, I've learned a lot about them from tumblr text posts. Anyways, enjoy this chapter! Here's some of the action I promised!

**_Hungry._ **

 

The deep voice of Venom stirred Eddie from sleep, and he moved over slowly, rubbing his face into his pillow. The morning sunlight lit the room in a somber glow, and the soft chatter of the cicadas filled the room with a soft buzz of noise. Eddie kept his eyes closed and made no movement.

 

 ** _Hungry._** Rumbled Venom, with a bit more insistence. Eddie moaned sleepily, not wanting to get up. However, his stomach rumbled him awake, and he begrudgingly sat up from his slumber, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. As he yawned and stretched, his attention was caught by the surge of hunger that flooded his body. Perhaps it was simply Venom’s way of reinforcing that they were hungry, but it stirred Eddie into actually making his way to the kitchen to try and scramble together some food.

 

“Want some tater tots?” Eddie questioned.

 

**_Heads. It’s been four days. We need a head._ **

 

Eddie sighed, wanting to try and argue it with Venom, but he knew that if they tried to go much longer without a head, Venom might actually do some damage to his internal organs. “Alright bud, we can go out and find a bad guy.”

 

Eddie had been steering clear of anything that could possibly bring attention to him whatsoever for the three days he’d been hiding out in the safehouse. Worst thing was, he hadn’t heard anything about the Avengers heading back to New York, so that meant they must still be in San Francisco, looking for Eddie. Another head was exactly the thing to do to bring unwanted attention, but Eddie had no other options.

 

Before Eddie went out, he texted a message to a friend of his, a man named Scott Lang. The two had met when Eddie tried to write a story about the whole airport fight, and later became friends when Venom came along. Scott was also living in San Francisco, so Eddie asked Scott to see if he could keep some sort of eye on the Avengers and warn Eddie if they were coming for him.

 

After sending a text to Scott, Eddie walked outside, put on his helmet and drove into a nearby town of Penngrove. He figured if he was going to attract attention, it was best to do it in a different town, so that way the Avengers would be busy searching Penngrove rather than Santa Rosa, where he was actually hiding.

 

Eddie let Venom take the wheel, and Venom navigated them through the streets of Santa Rosa, weaving through cars and traffic. Venom drove them all the way to Penngrove, a city smaller than Santa Rosa and San Francisco but still ideal enough to find bad guys in. They drove through the city, the rumble of the bike a comforting sound against the bustle of cars and indistinct conversations. As they drove through the city, they soon settled on a dark alley on the outskirts of the city, and parked the bike there. Once the bike was parked, Eddie hopped off, shed his helmet and began to walk the streets of Santa Rosa in hope of finding a bad guy. He couldn’t afford to not find a bad guy. One more day without a head and Venom might actually do some damage to his organs; it wouldn’t be anything that Venom couldn’t reverse, but Eddie wasn’t particularly fond of having his organs eaten.

 

He lurked through alleyways, his newly-heightened sense of hearing awaiting the shrill sound of a scream. And yet, it never came. Eddie slinked from alleyway to alleyway, glancing out at the streets as they slowly became drenched in a golden glow from the beginnings of today’s sunset. A few people trickled out of a nearby club, and he heard a few occasional shouts, which always turned out to be nothing but a group of children playing. As the minutes creeped past, the raw hunger in Venom’s entire being dug into Eddie, and Eddie too became unbelievably hungry. He needed to find a bad guy, and _fast_.

 

Three hours of searching later, their efforts of finding a bad guy to eat seemed to be in vain, that was, until they spotted some pervert hiding behind a corner and waiting for women to exit a club. Once a woman would exit the club, the man would follow them a few blocks. Eddie hid in an alley and waited for the man to pass the alley. 

As soon as the man did, Eddie grabbed him and threw him into the alley, eliciting a yelp from the man’s mouth. Eddie heard a small splat as the man came into contact with the harsh, cold concrete, and he cringed just the slightest bit. The man shook his head and opened his mouth to exclaim, but stopped dead in his tracks as he looked up at Eddie right as Venom engulfed Eddie’s body. The man’s eyes widened and he tried to scream, but all that came out was a raspy whimper. Pure terror clung to every inch of the man’s face, and the raw hunger ebbed at Eddie even more. Venom reached out, and their hands found their way around the man’s torso, and his claws dug slightly into the man’s chest as Venom lunged their head forward. 

The small part of their shared mind that was still Eddie cringed as Venom’s teeth sunk into the man’s neck, biting through bone and nerves and veins, severing the man’s head from his body. His body fell to the concrete with a splat, and Venom devoured the man’s head. Once done with the head, Venom picked the body up and dug his tongue into the man’s body, pulling out glistening organs and devouring them whole. Once Venom had devoured all the organs he could find, he tossed the empty body onto the concrete and began to walk themselves back to the bike, which was parked two blocks away. Once they reached the bike, Venom retreated into Eddie’s body and Eddie put his helmet on and revved up his bike. Venom then formed over Eddie’s arms and Eddie let him take control, driving them and steering them through traffic, all the way back to the safehouse. By the time they got back, the sun had already set and the safehouse was drenched in darkness. Brock parked his bike in the driveway and ran up the dilapidated old steps onto the porch, throwing the front door open. He collapsed onto the couch and sighed, hoping that the Avengers wouldn’t find out about the body for a while.

 

~~~~~

 

“I have news.” Natasha exclaimed, slapping a piece of paper onto the table where everyone was eating. Clint shot her a look of disdain, and Peter, Shuri and Thor scowled at their meal being interrupted, but everyone else just lifted their heads up and glanced at the paper Natasha had placed onto the table. “Penngrove police found a body in an alley fifteen minutes ago. No head, as usual, but this time all the organs were gone too.”

 

“Eugh.” Tony spat out, taking the paper. “While we’re eating, Natasha? Really?”

 

“Well you guys should finish up your meal. If we don’t hurry, we won’t catch Brock.”

 

A few of them groaned but wolfed down their meal anyways, and then a few of them suited up. Shuri and Bruce started going through traffic cams until Shuri exclaimed, “He’s in Santa Rosa!”

 

“Santa Rosa, hm?” Natasha remarked, glancing at the traffic cam. “He’s killing in different towns. He’s trying to throw us off.”

 

“Well, we know where he is, don’t we?” Tony huffed as his new nanotech suit covered him.

 

“We know what city he’s in, we don’t know what house. Shuri, can you find the last street he was on? We need to find wherever he’s hiding.” Steve spoke, glancing over at Shuri.

 

“I did find something earlier,” She spoke, pulling up something on the holograph, “when I was looking up the ex-fiancee, Anne Weying. There’s a house in Santa Rosa under her family’s name. No one’s lived in it for years. He must be hiding there.”

 

“Let’s go.” Said Tony, and everyone nodded. Those who were willing to fight immediately suited up, while others like Shuri, Bruce and Loki stayed behind. Everyone then gathered in one of Tony’s jets, and it took off towards Santa Rosa.

 

~~~~~

 

The ring of Eddie’s phone cracked through the silence of the safehouse, and Eddie, fearing the worst when he saw Scott’s name and face on his phone screen, picked the phone up almost immediately.

 

“Eddie, I just saw one of Stark’s jets take off. I think they’re heading for you.” Scott exclaimed, his voice rushed yet soft, as if he was in a house with other people and was trying to hide what he was doing from them.

 

“Shit.” Eddie rasped, catapulting off the couch so quickly that he nearly fell as the blood rushed to his head. He then ran to gather his things, all the while holding his phone to his ear with a shaky, sweaty hand. “Hey Scott, keep an eye out still. If I get caught, don’t risk yourself to try and rescue me.”

 

“I’ll try my best.” Scott replied, but Eddie could tell he wasn’t making any promises on not rescuing Eddie. Eddie thanked him, though, and hung up before he continued grabbing his things. He chucked things into his bag, not bothering to even attempt to tidy them up as he practically threw himself down the stairs and towards the front door, hastily zipping his bag closed. He then threw the door open and ran outside, fear rushing through his body, and he practically jumped onto his bike. Not bothering to put his helmet on, Eddie revved his bike and took off down the dirt driveway and onto the nearest road. He weaved his way through any cars in front of him, trying to book it to another town. He figured any town besides San Francisco, Penngrove and Santa Rosa would be best to hide in. What he didn’t fully realize, however, were that the Avengers were already a step ahead of him.

 

~~~~~

 

“He’s taking off!” Shuri exclaimed into her headpiece as her eyes were glued to the traffic cams in Santa Rosa. The Avengers were still two minutes away from Santa Rosa. “You guys need to land quickly!”

 

Tony nodded, his calculating brown eyes darting around as he formed a plan. Suddenly, his face jerked up, a plan clearly formed in his brain, and he then turned to face the rest of the team. “Sam, you and I will try to cut Brock off, corner him into some abandoned area. Peter, you can follow him, but do not try and engage him until my signal. Strange, you try and find some abandoned place and form a portal there so we can kick Brock into it. Everyone else, help Strange find an abandoned place, and land there. Wait until Brock arrives to fight him. Shuri, you wait for my signal as well. They said this alien thing is weak to certain sounds, right? Find out the sound range, and be ready to play sound that’s high enough to subdue, but not kill the alien. We’re gonna need to question both Brock and the alien.” He barked. He glanced at everyone on the plane, and they all nodded under his stern gaze. Even Shuri, still in front of the holograph at Tony’s estate, nodded eagerly.

 

Tony’s mask almost immediately came up and covered his face, and he opened a door of the jet and jumped out into the cold, December night air. Sam followed almost immediately, taking flight with Tony and jumping out of the jet. Peter followed them both, jumping out of the jet and almost immediately latching himself to the wall of a nearby building. Taking a quick inhale of breath, he began swinging from building to building.

 

“Dr. Strange, there is a tract of land off of Old Redwood Highway that is practically empty, with no buildings. It is probably best to go there.” Shuri spoke through the earpiece. Strange nodded, then in seconds, he and the others on the jet (except for those piloting the jet) were on that tract of land, awaiting Tony’s signal.

 

Meanwhile, Peter had finally caught up to Brock, and was directing Tony towards him. Brock seemed to notice he was being tailed, and he sped up on his bike, zooming through the traffic. His arms were black and tar-like from his fingertips to his elbow, which led Peter to believe that the alien was controlling him even now.

 

Brock was weaving through traffic with such spectacular ease that it surprised Peter; Brock was practically flying through the traffic at incredible speeds. It amazed Peter that Brock had not yet even touched another car.

 

As Peter continued to swing from building to building, he heard the roar of Tony’s blasters and looked up to see Tony flying past, followed closely by Sam. Brock heard it too; Peter managed to spot a shiver of terror flood his face before he sped up even more.

 

Tony and Sam flew lower, trying to force Brock to drive onto a more empty road so that Strange could get him, but Brock was smart; Brock was staying in the heavy traffic, knowing that Tony and Sam were not likely to try and attack him and risk injuring a dozen other, completely innocent people. However, Tony was smarter; he managed to shoot a calculated shot at Brock, nearly knocking him off his bike. Right before the shot landed on Brock’s back, a sheath of black covered his back and took most of the force of the blow, but it still knocked Brock forward. That had clearly angered Brock, as he swerved down a semi-empty road, and Tony took the opportunity to yell the signal to Strange. And in seconds, Brock, Tony, Sam and Peter were all on the empty tract of land with Strange and the others. Brock was knocked off his bike and sent flying, colliding harshly with the grass. 

 

Everyone stood cautiously and watched as Brock laid limply on the grass. Right as Peter took a single step forward to make sure Brock wasn’t dead, Brock stood up, a sheath of black making a slow crawl over his body. His wounds miraculously healed as he stood higher and higher, and suddenly he was engulfed in black, and the Avengers came face-to-face with the terrifyingly intimidating alien that had seen in so many photos. A deep, harsh growl emanated from the creature, before it charged forward. Before it could get more than six feet, however, a harsh, almost silent sound screeched from an earpiece Dr. Strange was holding, and the alien’s entire body shook and spasmed, an ear-splitting roar coming from its mouth. Within seconds, the alien had retreated back into Brock, and before Brock could do anything, Tony knocked him out with a single punch, and Brock laid unconscious on the grass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Eddie's first ally is...... Scott Lang! It was pretty easy to guess and I know practically all of you could tell it was going to be him. Now, you'll find out the identity of his other ally in the next chapter. And, in case you're worried about what the Avengers might do, the worst Eddie will really go through will be not being fed consistently (basically he might go an entire day without food). I can't really write sad nor violent stuff, so if you don't like sad stuff, you're in luck!


	6. Questions and glass cages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie wakes up in a room in Stark Tower, a sheath of glass between him and the Avengers. The Avengers have questions for him, but Eddie isn't particularly pleased with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, I love you guys. You have been giving me so much positive feedback, that it's now taking everything in my power to not upload once a day. I would, but I don't have enough time to write all the time, given I'm still in high school. But, I am writing as much as I can, so updates should be consistent all the way until the end of this story. I don't know how many chapters it'll be, but probably no more than 20 (if I even reach that many chapters) but it is looking like 15 chapters right now. Anyways, enjoy!

When Eddie came to, he was in a cold, almost all white room with a thick sheath of glass in between him and the people staring at him. **_The Avengers_** , Venom hissed, and Eddie groaned. He should’ve seen this coming. He sat up and ran a sweaty hand through his messy, tangled brown hair. As three pairs of eyes landed on him, he flinched slightly and sighed. Hoping to make himself look like less of a threat, he brought his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around his legs while digging his fingers into the fabric of his jeans. Instead of making any sort of eye contact with the three people standing in the other room (he recognized them as Tony Stark, Black Widow and Captain America) he stared off into space, dutifully ignoring all three of them. Eddie just wanted out of here.

 

“Mr. Brock, I see you’re awake.” Natasha spoke, her clear voice slicing through the silence. Eddie didn’t move. “Mr. Brock, we aren’t here to hurt you. We’re simply here to ask you a few questions about that alien.”

 

“Hell of a way to tell me.” Eddie snapped, his eyes still focusing on a random part of the wall. “You nearly killed V, and you knocked me out. ‘We aren’t here to hurt you’ my ass. Say that next time before you hurt me.”

 

The three of them clearly weren’t expecting that much snark from him, and mild surprise covered all their faces for a split second before all three of them regained their cool. Stark whispered something into an earpiece, and Eddie took the moment to finally glance around the room those three were standing in. A TV was hoisted up a few feet off the wall near the glass doors. A few clear tables littered the room, along with various pieces of medical equipment. It was a cold, tidy room, with almost no personal objects on the walls or tables. It was so professional, without any personal touch anywhere. It reminded him too much of Drake. He shivered.

 

“Where even am I?” He muttered, staring all three of them down. He tried to make it seem like he wasn’t afraid. He couldn’t let them think he was afraid. Him being afraid meant he had something to hide. And the more they suspected him, the more they’d interrogate him. He could not stay here long; he’d need food sooner or later.

 

“You’re in Stark Tower. You’ve been unconscious for almost a day.” Captain America replied, glancing undisturbed at Eddie. Eddie’s eyes narrowed, scanning over Captain America’s face. He’d seen Captain America’s face so many times; Captain America had been his childhood hero. Eddie had always admired how brave Captain America was, and as a child, Eddie would’ve given anything to meet him. Now, as he stood just feet away from Captain America, with Captain America’s blue eyes drilling into him, Eddie scolded his child self. He knew now that one would usually only meet a superhero when they were either a villain or in danger. _What a foolish child I was,_ thought Eddie. 

 

Suddenly, a few people filed into the room, ripping Eddie from his thoughts; Eddie recognized them as James Barnes, Sam Wilson, Clint Barton, Thor, Bruce Banner and Stephen Strange. However, there was also a tall, dark haired man dressed in green that Eddie didn’t recognize. He figured that he was important, however. The man held himself with such an air of elegance and confidence that Eddie had never seen, and he immediately started wondering who the hell the guy was. Clint glanced at Eddie, then back to Natasha. “He give you anything yet?”

 

“Other than snark, no.” Natasha muttered. She kneeled down to be face-to-face with Eddie, who, rather than coiling back in fear, stared her dead in the eyes. Eddie usually would’ve been scared, but he knew that with this glass between them, there was nothing the Avengers could do to him. They couldn’t hurt him, so he had nothing to fear. “You have to understand, Mr. Brock,” she started, “that we are trying to help you. We really do not want to hurt you. We just want to help you. If you let us, we can even separate you from that alien.”

 

Eddie jumped up quicker than lightning, his whole body shaking as he screamed a single, earsplitting **_“NO!”_** He was so panicked that his voice took on some of Venom’s semblance, and their voices mingled together. Clearly, Venom was panicked too, panicked enough that they hadn’t even tried to hold back their voice.

 

Everyone in the room was shocked at the response- Clint even fell down in surprise at the earsplitting scream. Eddie trembled, and he gasped, his breath shaky. Eddie then took a few moments to inhale and exhale, calming his breathing before he tried to speak again. When he did, the panic was almost completely gone, but an air of anxiety still hung in his voice.

 

“You will not separate us.” He spoke, his tone harsh and vivid. He scanned over the shocked faces of the Avengers as he opened his mouth to speak again. “We would rather die than be separated.”

 

Clearly, no one in the room was expecting that statement to come out of Eddie’s mouth. Stark, a bit shocked, gathered himself and walked fearlessly towards the glass. Stark’s eyes locked with Eddie’s, showing that Stark was clearly not intimidated by Eddie- either that or he was and was just pretty damn good at hiding it. “And why shouldn’t we separate you? That is a man-eating alien controlling you! It’s manipulating you, controlling you!”

 

Venom took that moment to split from Eddie’s shoulder, forming a head and almost smirking at the shocked faces of everyone in the room. **_“We do not control Eddie,”_** Venom hissed, their voice harsh, **_“Eddie does stuff for us because he wants to. We never force him to do anything.”_**

 

The deep voice of Venom temporarily stunned everyone into silence. Eddie took the moment to speak up as well. “V’s right. They don’t control me. We work together. It’s a symbiotic relationship. There’s a reason V’s called a symbiote.”

 

“‘V’?” Was the first thing any of the Avengers managed to say. Eddie glanced at the one who spoke, the scientist Bruce Banner, who stood awkwardly in the corner of the room. For some reason, he didn’t look nearly as harsh or determined as any of the others. That oddly relaxed Eddie a bit, and Eddie nodded.

 

“We are Venom.” Eddie spoke, his voice barely above a whisper and yet clear enough for everyone in the room to hear. “And you will not separate us. Ever.”

 

 ** _Never._** Venom spoke through their bond, in a soft, sweet voice that only Eddie could hear. He smiled and eased a bit, unconsciously placing a hand against Venom’s cheek, cupping it.

 

Stark whispered something into an earpiece, and suddenly, without another word, everyone left the room, plunging it into silence. Eddie sighed and eased back against the wall. It was cold to the touch, but it was better than nothing. As Eddie relaxed into the feeling, he felt Venom rumble through him.

 

 ** _They want to separate us._** Venom remarked. **_They were talking about all these tests, all these science things. They want to separate us. Why do they want to separate us?_** Their voice was soft, but Eddie could detect a hint of panic in the usually harsh voice of Venom. That hint of panic sent a bigger spark of panic through Eddie’s body; if Venom was scared, there was more than enough reason for Eddie to be, too.

 

“They just don’t understand, V. They think you’re controlling me, even though you aren’t. But I won’t let them separate us, V.” Eddie spoke softly, pressing a kiss to Venom’s mouth. Venom melted into the kiss, which was brief but comforting. “We’ll get out of here. I’ll make sure of it.”

 

 ** _Reminds us of Drake._** Venom remarked again, and Eddie felt the shiver of anxiety that flooded through their bond. **_We don’t like this, Eddie._**

 

“I don’t either bud, but we’ll find a way out of this. Okay?”

 

**_Okay._ **

 

~~~~~

 

“Oh god.” Anne murmured as she clicked onto the news channel. A story about the Avengers taking down an alien was playing, and after over 12 hours of radio silence from Eddie, she knew that the Avengers had caught up to him. While a little pissed that Venom and Eddie actually got themselves captured, she was worried for them (given the Avengers track record) and immediately started searching up flights to New York City without a second thought. Maybe she should be thinking a random trip to New York City through, but this was her ex-fiance for goodness sakes. He was one of the few family members she had left. Anne wasn’t too focused on thinking it through. She figured that it’d end up working in her favor anyways, or that she’d form a plan later; right now she was focused on getting out to New York City and finding Eddie.

 

Her rapid typing caught the attention of her boyfriend, Dan, who walked into the room with an expression of mild surprise on his face, yawning. Anne briefly glanced up at him, her fingers still moving of their own accord. After working in law for many years and typing out more emails than she could count, she had gotten rather good at typing fast.

 

“What’s with the rapid typing? It’s 5 in the morning.” He questioned, glancing over at Anne before rubbing his eyes. She gestured to the TV, where the news story was still playing. Dan’s eyes shifted and he glanced at it, watched it for a few seconds and then nodded in understanding. “Eddie’s in trouble, I guess. And you wanna go get him?” Anne nodded, and Dan glanced at the TV, then back to Anne. “Alright. I’ll be packed in twenty.”

 

Anne smiled, and spoke a quick “Thank you” before getting back to typing. Dan gave her a smile in reply and walked out of the room. Anne heard his footsteps as he walked to their shared room, and she then pulled out her phone, hastily unlocked it, and dialed Scott Lang- a friend of Eddie’s whose number she had gotten in case of emergencies. She almost immediately heard the soft click that signaled Scott had picked up, and she immediately launched herself into conversation.

 

“Scott, Ed-”

 

“Eddie got captured?” Scott finished Anne’s sentence, sighing. “Yeah, I saw the news. I also saw one of Stark’s jets take off last night. I warned Eddie, but I guess it didn’t help much, hm?”

 

“You think you can help me break him out?” Anne asked, a bit of anxiety in her voice. She’d heard from Eddie about Scott’s superhero persona of Ant-Man, and she figured he could help her get Eddie out of wherever they were hiding him.

 

“Already on it.” Scott replied, an air of joy and confidence in his voice. “I figured you’d want to try and break him out, so I booked a flight for you and I and that boyfriend of yours, and it leaves in eight hours. Make sure to meet me at the airport in six hours.” Anne nearly laughed outright, she was so relieved.

 

“You’re an angel, Scott.” Anne exclaimed, a smile breaking out on her face. A passing thought flew threw her mind, and she huffed out a breathless “I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

 

“I’m not sure I’m an angel, but thanks.” Scott remarked. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

 

Once Scott hung up, Anne put her phone into her pocket and ran to her and Dan’s shared room with a grin on her face. As Dan looked up at her, she grinned even wider. “Scott got us plane tickets. We’ll meet him at the airport in six hours.”

 

“Great.” Dan said with a smile. “Now, you gonna help me pack?”

 

“Of course, I just need to call one more person.” Anne spoke, and Dan nodded and got back to packing. Anne walked out into the foyer, and dialed one last number. She held the phone up to her ear, and tapped her finger gingerly as she waited for the phone to pick up. Finally, she heard a small click of the phone call starting, and she smiled in relief. “Hello, Wade.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the second ally is none other than..... Wade Wilson! I got the idea from a text post I saw on tumblr, that I sadly cannot find anymore, but props to whoever came up with it. But, Deadpool and Venom are gonna be friends in this, so you can look forward to that! Deadpool's my favorite marvel character so I'm gonna have a lot of fun writing him


	7. Midnight Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers start their questioning of Eddie Brock. The mischief trio become intrigued and pay Eddie and Venom a visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The amount of positivity on the last chapter was so overwhelming!! Ah I'm so happy you guys love this story so much! And so many of you are saying the characterizations are really spot on, which blows me away considering I'm basing them off of text posts I've found on Pinterest XD

“He’s definitely a strange case.” Bruce muttered, glancing over his files. His brown eyes, usually soft yet calculating, were darting across the screen in a frenzy. “I’ve seen and heard stories of people being bonded to aliens, but I’ve never heard of someone outright refusing to be separated.”

 

“This whole case is strange.” Natasha muttered, tapping her foot on the floor. Clint nodded in agreement.

 

“Weying did say that she thought Brock was in love with the alien.” Steve admitted, glancing at the two from his spot on the couch. He was sitting on one of the couches in one of the lounge rooms of Stark Tower, with Bucky laying down, his head in Steve’s lap. “She said he was pretty choked up when it supposedly ‘died’.”

 

“It is rather peculiar.” Loki spoke up from his corner of the room. He had been pretty deep in thought ever since seeing Brock’s reaction to the suggestion of being separated from the alien, and what the alien said. “I’ve never known a Klyntar behave like that. I’ve heard of Klyntars protecting their hosts to the death, but I’ve never heard of one loving their host.”

 

Tony scoffed, shaking his head. “There’s no way someone can fall for an alien. It’s outrageous. That alien must’ve brainwashed him or something. Manipulated him. No way can an aromantic, asexual alien have fallen in love.”

 

“I’m with Tony on this one.” Natasha remarked, standing up. “I don’t see how an alien, especially one that’s known for being completely asexual and aromantic, can develop feelings. That alien must be controlling him somehow.”

 

Everyone in the room nodded, some of them convinced and a few of them, not so sure. Bruce was glancing over the files and the cameras. He and Shuri had both been watching Brock through the cameras, and they had both seen a few displays of affection between Brock and the alien. Needless to say, they were both confused. Thor was also a bit perplexed; this Klyntar was nothing like the ones he’d faced in battle.

 

“Natasha, Steve, you two can come with me to interrogate Brock some.” Tony barked, and Bucky groaned as Steve made his way to stand up.

 

“Don’t leave meee.” Bucky groaned, holding his arms up limply, and Steve laughed.

 

“You can handle a few minutes apart from me, Buck.” Steve remarked, but didn’t complain when Bucky stood up and followed him anyways.  
The elevator took the four of them down to the level that Brock was being kept on. When they walked into the room, they say Brock asleep in his room, though a black tendril shot out of his skin, poked at him a little, and he woke up. His gray-blue eyes darted over to the four of them, and he sat up with a groan, running a hand through his rat’s nest of a head of hair. He yawned, then groaned again.

 

“Back again? Lucky me, I get to see the Avengers twice in one day.” He remarked dryly, giving out a low, humorless chuckle. He seemed unimpressed by the cage he was being kept in, which was a stark difference to the typical restless behavior that was common of villains locked in cages. Every bit of his body behavior signaled that he was mostly unbothered by the situation, which led Natasha to believe that he wasn’t worried about being trapped here for long. She scoffed silently at the show of arrogance.

 

“That’s quite a bit of snark we’ve heard from you, Mr. Brock.” Natasha remarked dryly, and Eddie let out another humorless chuckle.

 

“What can I say? I aim to please.”

 

“Okay, cut the bullshit Brock.” Tony barked, glancing harshly at Brock, who seemed completely undisturbed by the command. “We’re gonna ask you some questions, and you better answer them.”

 

Eddie scoffed and shook his head. “If you think you can use your billionaire and superhero status to intimidate me into talking, you’re wrong. You’re not the first rich guy I’ve faced, pal. I had my share of that with Carlton Drake. You don’t intimidate me.”

 

“So you spoke to Drake?” Steve questioned, and Brock nodded.

 

“He tried to kill me.” Brock monotoned. “Strapped me to a table, then chucked me out into the woods and ordered his security guards to kill me. So trust me when I say this isn’t my first time being locked up in some sort of medical prison. It’s precisely why you guys don’t intimidate me.”

 

“We are not trying to intimidate you, Mr. Brock. We are trying to help!” Natasha exclaimed. “We only want to separate you from the alien that’s controlling you.”

 

“V’s NOT controlling me!” Brock yelled, fury evident in his voice. “I find it surprising that you won’t listen, but then again, I wouldn’t expect the Avengers to try and understand. All you do is fight anyone and everyone you see.”

 

“Brock, you need to help us out here. Stop making this harder on yourself.” Natasha remarked, ignoring the jab.

 

“I’m not making this harder, you guys are.” Brock huffed. He then glanced away, refusing to make eye contact. “If you guys would even try to understand, instead of running in guns-blazing and acting like you’re never wrong, then this would all be over with.”

 

“Mr. Brock,” Tony started, and Brock groaned, “We are going to ask you some questions. I expect you to answer them.” Brock huffed, and turned away as Tony pulled out a notepad and pen. “Are we clear?”

 

Brock scoffed and turned his head away, and Tony began firing questions off.

 

~~~~~

 

When night settled on Stark Tower, the questions had finally ceased, after hours of defiance from Brock. Bruce was still up at one am when most of the Avengers had already retired to bed. Peter and Shuri, however, were sitting on the couch, scrolling through vine compilations, laughing and referencing vines to each other. Thor was still up, as he rarely went to bed before Bruce did (he preferred to go to bed at the same time as Bruce). Thor had situated himself in a comfortable chair just a few feet away from Bruce, and he would go from talking to Bruce to talking to Peter and Shuri. Loki was raiding Tony’s liquor cabinet, tossing bottles of alcohol to Valkyrie, who was chugging them down with ease. The two were talking jovially of tales from their ride back to Earth from Asgard. 

 

“None of this makes sense.” Bruce muttered, looking through the answers Tony had gotten and the footage of Brock. “I can’t understand why he wouldn’t want to be separated.”

 

“Perhaps that Klyntar really did develop feelings.” Loki commented, taking a sip of a glass of wine. “It’s quite outrageous, but it makes sense. I haven’t been able to detect any sign of mind control from Brock, so it is quite possible that they are simply in love and working together.”

 

“Loki does have a point.” Thor pointed out, and Loki beamed with pride. Ever since their return to Earth, Thor had been making sure to praise Loki whenever it was needed (and even sometimes when it wasn’t needed) as a way to make sure Loki knew that Thor did not view him as lesser, but rather his equal. With their father gone, no one stood in the way of the two, and Loki no longer had a shadow to hide behind. Despite Thor now having the title of king, however, he still stood equal to his younger brother, and he made sure to let Loki know that every chance he could.

 

“Maybe we should go down and talk to him.” Shuri suggested from her place on the couch. “Just ask him about the alien. Be civil. I don’t think he’s had much pleasant conversation since we locked him up here.”

 

“I’m all for that.” Loki remarked, and Peter nodded in agreement. “I’ve never really seen or talked to a Klyntar. I’m sure it’ll be interesting. Would you fancy tagging along, Banner?”

 

“I’d rather stay up here, so I’ll just hook up the audio to my computer. You three can go down there and talk to him, and I’ll listen from here.” Bruce remarked, and Loki, Peter and Shuri all nodded. They stood up, Valkyrie not caring to follow Loki. They then piled into one of the elevators and rode down to the floor that Brock was being kept on, and they all strode into the room that he was in. Brock was asleep, but a tar-like tendril rose out of his back and tapped him awake, and he glanced up at the three of them with a look of curiosity burning in his eyes.

 

“Who are you three?” He asked, a bit hesitant. He clearly didn’t recognize any of them. There was an anxiousness in his eyes; clearly, he thought they were here to interrogate him.

 

“I am Shuri, Princess of Wakanda. It is nice to meet you, Brock.” Shuri spoke, and the pleasant tone of her voice took Brock a bit off guard. Clearly, he wasn’t used to such casualness from anyone who stayed in this tower.

 

“I am Peter Parker, also known as Spiderman.” Peter introduced, nodding happily. Eddie tilted his head a bit at that.

 

“And I am Loki, prince of Asgard and God of mischief.” Loki glanced around at the cage Brock was being kept in. He scoffed a little, clearly unimpressed. “They have really given you a poor excuse for living quarters, haven’t they?”

 

“You could say that again.” Brock muttered. His eyes narrowed and trailed across the faces of the three of them, clearly suspicious. “Why are you three down here? To interrogate me? I already answered your questions.”

“We are not here to interrogate you, but we do have an inquiry or two to make of you.” Loki spoke, kneeling down to be face-to-face with Brock, who was sitting down. Brock’s eyes narrowed even further. “I know those high-and-mighty Avengers have been asking many questions of you, and haven’t been listening to your story. We, however, are here to listen to your story. We want to know your relationship with the alien, so please enlighten us.”

 

That statement took Brock off guard; everyone else in this building wanted to separate him from Venom, not hear his story. A bit taken back, Brock cleared his throat and began. “Well, Venom is not controlling me, as you may believe. We work together. I give them a body to inhabit and food, and they give me protection and they heal all my injuries. We do not take from each other.” He glanced at their faces, then continued. “We live in harmony. Sure, V can be annoying as hell sometimes, and it’s not fun eating people, but I really like having them around.”

 

“Interesting.” Loki murmured, as both Peter and Shuri’s eyes widened. “You are in love with this ‘Venom’, are you not?”

 

Venom took that moment to form above Eddie’s shoulder, narrowing their eyes at each of them in turn. **_“We are in love.”_** Venom replied, nuzzling up against Eddie’s face. **_“And you will not separate us.”_**

 

Loki hummed a little, then smiled. “Well, I certainly do not want to separate you two. You are quite more interesting bonded together.” Loki paused for a few seconds, then turned to face them again. “I can’t speak for those bumbling, idiotic Avengers out there,” he gestured to the door, “but I can say that I, personally, have no goal of seeing the two of you separated.”

 

With that, Loki up and walked out of the room. Peter and Shuri trailed behind him, biding Brock goodbye before running into the elevator after Loki.

 

“What was that?” Peter asked, a bit breathless from running after Loki. His eyes stared up at him, and Loki sighed and lifted his head up.

 

“Those two are interesting.” He admitted. “They interest me. Of course, I myself was locked up in a cage by the Avengers once upon a time, so I don’t particularly like seeing someone else caged up the same way.” Loki bit his lip in thought.

 

“I know that look.” Shuri spoke, glancing at Loki. “What are you planning to do?”

 

Loki’s face spread into a grin, and he looked down at both Peter and Shuri. “How would you two feel about breaking ol’ Brock out?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like the mischief trio is beginning to swing onto Eddie's side (I swear that pun was completely unintentional don't yell at me)  
> This group dynamic is gonna be fun and interesting to write, so I'm hoping y'all will enjoy it
> 
> (I just realized I haven't written Eddie calling V a parasite yet... oops)


	8. The guy in the black and yellow cape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne, Dan and Scott board a plane. Eddie tries to cheer Venom up, and Loki pays the two lovebirds a visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8! You guys sure are keeping it going with the feedback, so thank you so much!!! I cannot express how happy you guys make me! This is my first time trying to write a fic that isn't centered on romance, so it's proving a challenge to actually come up with a prettt decent plot. You guys, though, seem to love this story a ton, so it's giving me motivation to write more and more. So, thank you guys so much!

“This is exactly why I hate flying.” Anne muttered, as she, Dan and Scott made their way through TSA. “It’s always such a huge hassle.”

 

“It may be a hassle, but it’s quick.” Scott remarked, putting both of his shoes back on. “We’ll be in New York in six hours. Cheer up a bit.”

 

Anne sighed exasperatedly, her gray-blue eyes digging into Scott. “My ex-fiancé is being held captive by the Avengers. I’m having a hard time keeping happy.”

 

Dan grabbed Anne’s hand and rubbed his thumb against her knuckles, a gesture that always seemed to calm her down. Anne smiled softly at Dan and glanced back at the terminal. They managed to get through security quickly after that, and soon enough, the three of them were sitting and waiting for boarding to start. Anne sighed, and Dan continued to rub her knuckles. She smiled and started tapping her foot impatiently, hoping Eddie wasn't in too much trouble. The Avengers wouldn’t harm him, would they?

 

The woman at the gates soon announced boarding, and once their section was called, Anne, Dan and Scott jumped up and hurried over to the plane.  
“In a hurry?” The woman asked with a smile, taking Anne’s ticket in her hands. Anne nodded, and the woman grabbed Dan’s ticket. “Ah well, you’ll get to wherever you’re going soon enough.”

 

After taking Scott’s ticket, the woman handed it back to him with a smile and gestured for them to walk onto the plane. The three of them rushed onto the plane, and walked slowly through the line of people to put their carry-ons in the storage compartments. After stuffing hers in the storage compartment, Anne sat herself down in the window seat (Scott had begged to have the window seat, but he gave it to Anne after she said she’d get it) and stared anxiously out the window. Dan soon sat down beside her, and Scott sat next to Dan, on the aisle seat. As the three of them watched people pass by, Anne exhaled exasperatedly and glanced at Dan.

 

“Only 6 hours, hm?” She spoke, and he nodded. “Six hours, then we can go rescue Eddie and I can kick his ass for letting himself get captured.”

 

“I don’t think beating him up would be a wise choice.” Scott remarked. “Who knows what the Avengers are gonna do to him. I think we should just run in there, get him out and get the hell out of dodge.”

 

Anne glared at Scott, but Dan glanced at her and rubbed her knuckles. “He’s right, Anne. We should just rescue Eddie and get him back to San Francisco.”

 

Anne sighed, but Dan brought a quick kiss to her lips and she eased a little. “Alright, I won’t kick him.” Dan laughed, and Anne smiled a little. “Now all we gotta do is wait for this damn plane to take off, and we can go rescue Eddie.”

 

“That’s the spirit.” Scott said with a laugh.

 

~~~~~

 

“You want to break him out?” Peter exclaimed, looking at Loki with a shocked face as the elevator finally came to a stop. Loki nodded and strode out into the room that Bruce, Thor and Valkyrie were in.

 

“Brock is interesting, and I find his relationship with that Klyntar peculiar. Besides, breaking Brock out would be a jab at those Avengers, and I have been awaiting any chance to get back at them for locking me up all those years ago.” Loki remarked, striding towards Bruce. “I assume you heard what young Peter just said.”

 

Bruce glanced from Loki to Peter and Shuri, then back to the cams, and sighed. “I won't try and stop you from letting Brock out, but I won't be helping you. I don't want to incriminate myself in any way.”

 

“As will I,” Thor spoke, standing up, “I will be on Bruce’s side. Be wise, brother. Don't go through with a foolish plan.”

 

“Since when have any of my plans been foolish?” Loki said with a grin. “I have thought plenty about this. Tomorrow night, at one in the morning, once everyone is asleep.” He turned to Peter and Shuri, and they nodded. “Perfect! Now, time to rest. We must sleep plenty in order to stay up tomorrow night with ease.”

 

“I love a good rebellion.” Shuri exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. “Besides, it's a good way to demonstrate my technological ability.”

 

“How will it demonstrate your technological ability?” Peter questioned.

 

“Because, I will hack into the cage and the cams.” Shuri replied with a mischievous grin. “I probably won't be able to give us more than a minute before Stark notices what's up, but it should be plenty of time to get Brock out. And, they said he had a fiancée right? Perhaps she’d want to help.”

 

“Shuri, she's probably in California.” Peter pointed out.

 

“Oh please, if she's anything like what they said, she's probably on a plane right now.” Shuri said with a scoff, shrugging her shoulders. She grabbed a pillow from the couch and tossed it to Peter. “Alright, as much as I’d love to stay up and watch more vines, we really should sleep. Mind if I crash in your room?”

 

“I mean, I have a bunk bed, so sure.” Peter replied, and Shuri clapped her hands together.

 

“Alright! Let’s go to bed. See you in the morning Loki, Thor, Dr. Banner.” She gave a curt nod in Bruce’s direction, and he returned it. Shuri waved goodnight to all of them, and then the two friends bounded off for the elevator, referencing memes under their breath and laughing.

 

“I will never fully understand those two.” Bruce spoke with a sigh.

 

“Kids.” Loki replied, shaking his head. “Alright, I shall retire to bed, and by bed, I mean this couch right here since Stark still refuses to give me a room.”

 

“You can always stay in the spare room on my floor, brother.” Thor suggested, and Loki rolled his eyes but nodded.

 

“Alright, I’ll take that for the night.”

 

“Banner, I suppose it’s time for us to go to bed as well.” Thor remarked, as Loki made his way to the elevator and Valkyrie laid down on the couch. “Shall we head to our room?”

 

Bruce glanced over his files one last time, sighed, and turned the computer off. “I suppose.” Bruce put his pens back up, then followed Thor to the elevator. Now all alone, Valkyrie kicked her feet up, sighed contentedly, and fell asleep.

 

~~~~~

 

Eddie stirred awake at nine the next morning, exhausted and hungry but otherwise fine. Venom was situated near the bottom of Eddie’s spine, resting peacefully. Eddie groaned and pushed his face into the pillow he had had his head on. The room he was caged up in came with a bed, pillow and blanket; the bed wasn’t that comfortable, the blanket was thin but the pillow was comfy, to say the least. Eddie figured he could’ve gotten it worse.

 

“You up bud?” Eddie murmured, pulling his face out of the pillow a little. Venom grumbled back in contentedness, and Eddie smiled. Eddie then flipped over, flopping onto his back. “Day two in this hellhole, bud, and we’re still bonded together. I’d say we’re doing pretty alright.”

 

 ** _Want out. Really don’t like it here._** Venom muttered, buzzing a little, sending a bit of a tingle up Eddie’s spine.

 

“I don’t like it here either, bud. But we’ll be out of here eventually, okay? We’re not gonna stay here forever.” Eddie tapped on his shoulder a little, and Venom formed from the tip of Eddie’s shoulder blades. Eddie smiled and pressed a small kiss to Venom’s face. “I won’t let them keep us here forever. We’ll get out of this place, run back to San Francisco, and get us a few bad guys on the way, mkay?”

 

 ** _Food._** Venom grumbled happily, surging up into Eddie’s palm. **_Haven’t eaten in a day and a half._**

 

“Yeah, they don’t feed us much down here.” Eddie remarked softly, rubbing his thumb against Venom’s face soothingly. He stayed supine, staring at the ceiling above him. “We’ll find something to eat, okay bud? I doubt they’d think of letting us starve.”

 

Venom rumbled a bit, not completely sure of that statement, but they snuggled up into Eddie’s face and rested on Eddie’s shoulder. Before Eddie could even press another kiss to Venom, the door of the main room swung open, and Eddie sat up and glanced at who had just come in. It was the man from last night, Loki, dressed in an all black suit, tie and dress shoes, with his raven-black hair groomed neatly and positioned on his shoulders. His whole appearance was a stark difference to the armor-like clothing and black and yellow cape he had been wearing the first two times Eddie had seen him, and the way his hair was always tossed onto his shoulders with a bit of a disorderly look to it. He seemed to hold himself with an air of confidence, of dignity, that Eddie rarely saw. It was similar to the air of dignity that Tony Stark held himself with, though this man was obviously not a billionaire; Eddie would’ve heard of him by now. A millionaire, perhaps, or just a simple rich person. He was associated with the Avengers, so he had to have some sort of rank.

 

Loki held a plate in his hand, covered by a cloche dome plate. Eddie narrowed his eyes. Loki walked up to Eddie, then pressed a button that lifted up a small opening in the bottom of the glass. Loki ripped off the cloche dome plate to reveal a large, tenderly cooked chicken, and he slid it into the room. Eddie immediately grabbed it and scarfed it down, Venom rumbling with utter happiness at finally getting food. Not missing a beat, Eddie downed the entire thing, bones and all (Venom took the bones). After finishing it off, Eddie wiped his face and glanced at Loki, as Loki pushed a glass of water into the room as well. Eddie downed that, gulped, wiped his mouth and stared at Loki. Loki scoffed slightly, then sighed and opened his mouth to speak.

 

“I can tell from your reaction that they don’t feed you well.” Loki remarked, peering at Eddie. His green eyes were full of some sort of emotion, one that Eddie couldn’t particularly place. It seemed like a mix of curiosity and anticipation; why this man would be anticipating something, Eddie didn’t know and couldn’t tell. “Do not worry, I do not want anything in return or anything like that, if you are indeed pondering that. You see, I was saving that for a feast of sorts, but I figured that you probably hadn’t had any food since they threw you in here.” Loki had kneeled down, his head cocked slightly to the right, an expression of slight concern gleaming on his face.

 

“Why are you doing this?” Eddie questioned, gazing at Loki, who stood up and dusted his pants off. Loki tossed his hair over his shoulder, once again with the air of dignity that Eddie only ever saw in refined rich people, or those in high status. Loki then turned and faced Eddie, his green eyes gazing down, crossing over Eddie’s messy hair, to his sweaty gray hoodie and slightly ripped up jeans. Something burned in Loki’s eyes, some sort of conclusion or statement clearly forming in his brain.

 

“You intrigue me.” Loki replied simply, cocking his head. “You’re not a villain, I can tell. You don’t have evil intentions. What your intentions are, I cannot tell for certain, but they certainly aren’t nefarious. In addition, you’re bonded to a Klyntar. I’ve never truly met a Klyntar before the one bonded to you. And you said yourself, you two are in love.” He paused for a second, then strode towards the door, taking only a few steps before shooting one final glance at Eddie. “This won’t be the last you’ll see of me, though I prefer you not tell any of those Avengers of this, alright?”

 

With that, he stepped out of the room, leaving Eddie to wonder just who the hell this guy really was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I look back on this and realize that Loki wears a green cape much more often but I wrote him as wearing his yellow cape because why not


	9. Good ol' New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie meets T'Challa. The Eddie rescue trio (Anne, Dan and Scott) land in New York, and Loki calls Anne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 9! Next chapter is gonna be a long one! And as always, thanks for all the amazingly positive feedback!

“Good ol’ New York! Man I missed you!” Scott exclaimed, walking out of the airport and onto the fresh pavement. He inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled, opened his eyes wide and smiled. “I haven’t been to New York in a long time.” 

 

“I lived in New York for a while.” Anne remarked, lugging her suitcase behind her. The wheels of her suitcase clacked against the hard pavement. “I met Eddie here. Then the whole Daily Globe incident happened, and we moved out to San Francisco.” She put her suitcase on the ground next to where Scott was standing, and she stared at the curves of the city buildings in the distance. “I didn’t mind living here, but the constant noise and smell of cigarettes and/or smoke isn’t all that pleasant.” 

 

“Well, I’ve never been so I can’t relate to either of you.” Dan remarked, lugging his suitcase behind him. He stopped a few feet short of the two of them, then sighed and took his hand off his suitcase. “Did that friend of Eddie’s tell you where we’re supposed to meet him?”

 

“Yeah, he did.” Anne replied. “We just gotta take a bus and meet him at the cafe he told me about.” She pulled out her phone, tapped the screen a bit and checked the time. “Now, what bus are we taking to that rental car place again?”

 

Scott pulled out his phone and glanced at it. “Hertz.” 

 

“So let’s find the Hertz bus.” Anne then grabbed her suitcase and heaved it up a little, then walked towards the bus ramp. Scott and Dan followed her, and the three of them stood patiently, waiting for the bus to arrive. It was already 8 at night; Anne knew they’d probably have to wait a day before rescuing Eddie. That thought just put her completely on edge. She hated waiting, not knowing if Eddie was okay or not. 

 

Dan sensed Anne’s tension, her anxiety, and he began rubbing her knuckles. Anne eased a little, but she remained tense as she awaited the arrival of the Hertz bus. The bus arrived later than they’d hoped; they had to wait a whole fifteen excruciating minutes for it. Once it arrived, a pleasant looking man took their suitcases, and the three of them boarded the bus. Anne sat in the very back row, scrunched up next to the window, and Dan sat next to her, playing with her hair to calm her down. Scott sat himself in a window seat, sitting only a few feet from Anne and Dan. He gazed out the window, a hint of childish excitement gleaming in his eyes. Anne smiled a little when she saw the childish excitement in Scott’s eyes. She hadn't talked much to Scott, maybe a small conversation here and there, but she barely knew him. All she knew was that he lived in San Francisco, held the superhero persona of Ant-Man, and he had a daughter. 

 

“Excited, are we?” Anne remarked with a small smile, glancing at Scott, who clutched onto his phone. 

 

“Yeah. I haven't been to New York in so long. It's kinda exciting to be back here, and as a tourist.” Scott replied. He glanced back out the window. “It's gonna be so cool to be here, even if we are only here for like two days.”

 

Anne huffed slightly, but smiled and clutched onto Dan’s hand. She laid her head against his shoulder, sighing softly as she closed her eyes and relaxed against the warmth of his chest. Dan ran a hand through her hair, stringing his fingers through her neatly combed blonde hair. The bus started to drive off, and Anne wrapped her fingers around the straps of the large bag she was carrying. Her lashes fluttered slightly as the bus rumbled on, occasionally shaking slightly as it rumbled over rocky concrete. Dan continued to weave his fingers through her hair, and Anne nearly fell asleep by the time the bus stopped at the Hertz building. 

When the bus stopped and the doors opened, Dan shuffled slightly and woke Anne, who stood up, yawned a little and grabbed her carry on and suitcase. Scott jumped out of the bus and hopped onto the pavement, clutching his carryon in one hand and his suitcase in the other. He bounded into the building with jubilant fervor, throwing the door open. Anne scoffed slightly while Dan laughed at the boundless energy Scott possessed. It was definitely a change of pace, dealing with someone as Eddie nergetic as Scott. Anne wasn’t used to that type of energy, working at public defender's office. Many of the people she met weren’t super energetic, at least until a case came along, and even then, they rarely showed the childlike energy that Scott had. Dan, meanwhile, had run into plenty of energetic people, so he was more used to it than Anne. 

 

Scott stood in the line for the counter, and soon enough walked to Anne and Dan with a pair of car keys in his hands. “Now, let's go get our car.” 

 

Anne and Dan followed him out to the car yard, and they eventually found their assigned car, a sleek, all-black 2018 Honda Accord. Scott wolf-whistled at the car, before opening the drivers side front door and climbing in. “Sweet ride.” He remarked, glancing at the inside of the car, as Anne and Dan climbed into the car, Anne in the shotgun seat and Dan in the back. “I would’ve brought my case of cars for us to use, but my girlfriend is holding onto it and she's been busy lately so I didn't want to bother her.”

 

“Your girlfriend?” Anne questioned, as Scott started the car. She tilted her head a little to the side, gazing at Scott with a quizzical glance. 

 

“Yeah, her name’s Hope.” He replied with a smile. “She's also my fighting partner, by the name of Wasp. She's amazing, and she gets along great with my daughter, Cassie.” 

 

Anne bit her lip, and remained silent as Scott started to drive. He drove down long roads, winding through busy streets and passed large skyscrapers. Anne’s eyes wandered over the buildings, the trees and the people walking along the sidewalks. For the first time since Eddie’s capture, Anne actually felt at ease. 

 

~~~~~

 

The door to the main room, opposite of where Eddie was being kept in, swung open, drawing Eddie’s gaze. Tony Stark walked in, along with Steve Rogers and a well-dressed, dark haired man that Eddie recognized as T’Challa, king of Wakanda. As soon as T’Challa walked in, the Pink Panther theme song began to play softly, and T’Challa cursed under his breath. 

 

“I do not understand how those two hacked your system, Stark.” T’Challa muttered. “You said Barnes is not that familiar with technology.” Apparently, Sam and Bucky had hacked the system to make Pink Panther play everytime T’Challa entered a room. Needless to say, T’Challa was not pleased. 

 

Eddie smirked a little when it played, but he stopped before the three of them could notice. 

 

“Yeah well, Sam is familiar with technology.” Tony replied with a shrug. He stopped a few feet short of the sheath of glass in front of Eddie, then turned to face T’Challa. “Here, T’Challa, meet Eddie Brock and Venom.”

 

“Hello, Brock.” T’Challa spoke, gazing at Eddie. Eddie nodded briefly, somewhat a sign of respect (or at least, not a sign of disrespect). “I have heard plenty about you.”

 

“All bad, I suppose?” Eddie remarked, in a tone that was almost devoid of all emotion, in an attempt to not be disrespectful. Eddie may not have respect for millionaires nor billionaires, but T’Challa was a king with the might of an entire country behind him. Eddie knew better than to try and disrespect a king. 

 

“Not all bad.” T’Challa murmured, taking a few steps towards the glass. He stopped four feet short of the glass, then gazed down at Eddie, who was sitting rather pathetically on the floor. Eddie’s hair was sweaty and tangled, looking much like a rat’s nest. His clothes were dirty and somewhat soaked in sweat. His skin was pale and sweaty, pale enough to shine slightly in the harsh white light. “Rather interesting, in fact.”

 

Eddie cocked his head, his mouth hanging open in a sort of soft, low chuckle. “I’m honored that you think of me as interesting.” His eyes followed T’Challa as T’Challa took two steps towards the glass. T’Challa gazed over Eddie, and suddenly turned, walking back towards Tony. T’Challa muttered something to Tony, and the two walked out of the room, leaving Eddie along with Steve. Steve glanced towards Eddie, then followed the other two out of the room, leaving Eddie alone once again. 

 

Eddie tapped lightly on his shoulder, and Venom formed over his shoulder.  
**_“Really don’t like them.”_** Venom murmured, nuzzling into Eddie’s cheek. 

 

“Neither do I, bud.” Eddie replied, rubbing his thumb along the ‘skin’ below Venom’s eyes. Eddie pressed a kiss to Venom’s face, and Venom rose up a little and kissed Eddie. Eddie leaned into it, not caring that there were cameras in the room with someone possibly watching them. The kiss was short, but made Eddie feel more alive than he’d been since he was captured and thrown into this hell hole. Venom then proceeded to press small kisses all over Eddie’s face, tickling Eddie’s skin. Eddie smiled and cupped Venom’s face, returning the favor by pressing kisses all over Venom. 

 

“I love you, bud.” Eddie whispered, and Venom nuzzled hard against Eddie’s cheek. 

 

**_“Love you too, Eddie.”_ **

 

~~~~~

 

“So what is your plan to break them out?” Peter questioned, placing a card down on the table. He lifted his head up and glanced at Loki, who was gazing over the cards in his hand. 

 

“Well, Shuri did say that that ex-fiancée of his will probably try and rescue him, correct?” Loki placed a card down on the table. “I say, we contact her, enlist her in our mission.” 

 

Shuri collected both of the cards, then glanced at both of them, reading them aloud and chose one. “Who had this one?”

 

“I did!” Peter exclaimed, and Shuri handed him the black card. The three of them had decided to play _cards against humanity_. Currently, Loki was winning with four cards, Shuri right behind him with three, and now Peter was tied with Shuri. 

 

“After this round ends, I shall dial the ex-fiancée.” Loki remarked, placing yet another card on the table after Peter selected a black card and read it aloud. “She’s probably in New York by now.”

 

Shuri placed her card down, and Peter grabbed both cards and looked over them. “I can track her phone.” Shuri remarked, glancing hopefully at Peter. 

 

“That is a good idea.” Loki remarked, as Peter held up the winning card. “I’ll take that, thank you.” Loki grabbed the black card, and Shuri and Peter both groaned as Loki won yet again. 

 

Shuri stood up and walked over to her set up, and began typing hastily at the screen. She soon found Anne Weying’s number and tracked it. “She's right at the outskirts of New York City.”

 

“Perfect.” Loki murmured, and he pulled up a phone, typed Weying’s number in and pressed the call button. The phone rang for a few seconds before Anne picked it up.

 

“Who is this?” Anne spoke, her voice soft but clearly anxious.

 

“This is Loki, god of mischief.” Loki began. “I am in Stark Tower, where your beloved Eddie Brock is being kept.”

 

Anne went silent. “Are you gonna try to get a ransom or something?” She finally demanded.

 

“Not at all. I want to break him out.” With that, Anne went dead silent on the other line. “If you are up to it, come to Stark Tower at 1 am tonight. Me and two of my allies will help you break him out.”

 

“Why do you want to break him out?” Anne questioned, her voice terse. “You're obviously their ally if you're in the building. Why do you want to go against them?”

 

“Because they threw me in a cage once. I figure this is the perfect way to get back at them. And I am not particularly their ally, more like a neutral person who is allowed to come and go from Stark Tower.” 

 

Anne paused, and a quick silence filtered through the phone. “If you are lying, or you go against me, I will find you.” She said at last, and Loki let out a small chuckle.

 

“Of course you will. I’ll see you in a few hours.” 

 

He then hung up before Anne could say anything more, and put the phone down on the table. “Alright, shall we start another round?” 

 

“Sure, why not.” Shuri replied, shuffling the cards. “Now, are you sure this plan of yours will work?”

 

Loki pulled his hair onto his shoulder and sighed. “I know it will. I am not a foolish thinker, after all. I am quite calculating. That Anne is surely not dumb enough to try and rescue Brock alone. She probably has backup. So that is at least five people breaking Brock out. We have a very fair chance.”

“I hope so.” Peter remarked, rubbing his hands together nervously. “I don't really like going against Mr. Stark.”

 

“Then why are you?” Shuri asked jokingly, tilting her head in a way to signal to Peter that she was in no way accusing him or belittling him for his choice. 

 

“Because, I don't think it's right to keep someone locked up in a glass cage with barely any food or water. No one deserves that.” 

 

Loki hummed a little from his seat. “Ah, to be young and so full of moral compass.” His voice was light, a hint of a joking manner to it and yet also not accusing, making it clear that Loki was in no way making fun of Peter for being so empathetic. “We’ll rescue Brock, or Eddie, I should say. Now, let's play another round and feast. It's no good planning on an empty stomach.” And he waved his hands, and plates of food appeared on the table. Puddings and meat and even croissants, along with dessert items and sodas (and wine, for Loki). Both Peter and Shuri smiled widely. Loki clapped both his hands together, and a smile spread across his face. “Alright, dig in!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the "Bucky and Sam hack Stark Tower to make Pink Panther play whenever T'Challa enters a room" idea from a tumblr post made by tumblr user bartonclint, so that was not my idea at all. I will say once again, most of the characterizations in this fic are based off what I've learned from tumblr text posts


	10. Breakout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two rescue groups collide at Stark Tower and break Eddie out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally wrote Deadpool in! Idk if my characterization of him is accurate so far but I'm trying. Also, this is like the second longest chapter I've written so far? I think? It might be the third longest, all I remember is that the next chapter is 3004 words which makes it the longest chapter so far (my memory is shit for everything except birthdays and heights)

“Are you sure we can trust this Loki guy?” Scott asked, raising an eyebrow. The three of them, Scott, Anne and Dan were sitting in a cafe, waiting on a friend of Eddie’s. Anne had just hung up with a man named Loki, who had claimed to not only wanting to break Eddie out, but to staying at Stark Tower. Naturally, the three of them were all very confused. 

 

“I don’t know.” She replied, rubbing her temples. “But he did say he wants to get back at the Avengers.” She threw her head up, looked around, then ducked her head back down, sighing. “Look, we know shit about Stark Tower, its security and where they’re keeping Eddie. Even if this Loki guy is a bad chance, it’s still a much better chance than we have on our own.” 

 

“Anne’s right. We have no chance of doing this if we don’t have some sort of inside help. Someone who knows the Avengers, knows where Eddie is being held and knows the best time to rescue him.” Dan spoke, placing his hands on the table. “How about this. Anne and I and that friend of Eddie’s can go in at once, and one of us can have you, Scott, shrunk in our pocket. That way, if things go bad, you can hop out, supersize yourself and save us.” 

 

Scott nodded, then tapped his fingers impatiently on the table. “Alright. We’ll have to keep that as our plan.” He held his head up, and nodded as a waitress stopped by and put their drinks on the table. For Anne, a coke, for Dan, a water, and for Scott, a sprite. Scott took the sprite into his hand and began to drink, gazing at Anne and Dan through his lashes. “When’s that friend of Eddie’s going to be here again?”

 

“He texted me five minutes ago, said he’d be here in ten.” Anne replied, stowing her phone back in her pocket. “We can’t zap him here, Scott. We gotta be patient.” 

 

Dan nodded in agreement. “Anne’s right. That guy should be here in only a few minutes.” Dan turned and put his hand on Anne’s face, cupping her chin. She leaned her head into the touch and smiled softly. 

 

The three of them heard footsteps, and then a voice. “Are you ready to order food, or are you still waiting on someone?” Asked a waitress, the one who had gave them their drinks. She had walked back up to them with a notepad in one hand and a black pen in the other. She tilted her head to the side a little, her eyes crinkling as she did so. 

 

“We’re still waiting on someone.” Anne replied with a smile. The waitress glanced from the three of them, then nodded and huffed a little. 

 

“Alright. I’ll be back around in five minutes to get your orders, then.” Said the waitress, and she walked back towards the kitchen, swinging the kitchen door shut behind her. Scott let his eyes drift across the conglomeration of people sitting in the cafe, waiting for the friend of Eddie’s to arrive. 

 

After a few minutes, the door of the cafe jingled open, and a heavily scarred man walked in, stumbled over to their table and sat down. “Nice to finally meet you.” The man spoke, lifting his head up to glance at Anne. His blue eyes narrowed and landed on her face. 

 

Anne nodded, and her eyes fell onto the man’s face. “It’s nice to meet you too, Wade.” 

 

~~~~~

 

Eddie pawed uselessly at the sheath of glass standing in between him and the main room, letting his fingers slide over the cold glass. He glanced out into the main room, trying to make sense of what was there. The main room was dark, the lights dimmed so much that it was slightly difficult to see. It was also silent, given that no one but Eddie and Venom were in there. 

 

Venom laid subdued at the tip of Eddie’s pelvis, partially wrapped around Eddie’s spine. They had been resting since 7pm, when the Avengers had finished their daily interrogation. Loki had brought them yet another full chicken at noon that day, just half an hour before the Avengers began their interrogation. Venom had devoured it happily, and Loki had simply nodded and walked off without another word.

 

It confused Eddie, why this man was feeding them. Why he was helping them. The man said Eddie and Venom intrigued him. Eddie didn’t really know what he meant by that, but if the man had wanted to interrogate Eddie like the Avengers did, he’d have done it by now. Instead, the man had just given Eddie two chickens, some water and a half-winded explanation. The man intrigued Eddie more than Eddie seemed to intrigue him. 

 

Eddie lifted his head at the silence. Venom hadn’t said anything in over an hour. Curious, Eddie shifted a little, and when he felt where Venom was, he glanced at his hip. 

 

“You asleep, bud?” Eddie murmured in a dulcet tone, tapping his hip lightly. He cocked his head, and smiled when a small black tendril wormed its way out of his hip and caressed his cheek. 

 

 ** _Am awake._** Venom rumbled softly, their voice subdued. **_Just resting. Or, trying to rest. Can’t really fall asleep._**

 

“You can’t fall asleep right now, or you are incapable of ever falling asleep?” Eddie questioned.

 

**_Incapable. We get our rest from you. You rest, and it recharges us._ **

 

Eddie rubbed slowly at the tendril cupping his cheek. He smoothed his thumb over it in a slow, affectionate manner, eliciting small waves of contentment from Venom. Eddie tilted his head, then moved and pulled himself up onto the bed. He laid sideways, letting his face lay halfway onto the pillow. “Well then, I should probably sleep then, huh?” When Venom rumbled in agreement, Eddie smiled and let his face sink into the pillow. “Alright. Let’s sleep, bud.” 

 

~~~~~

“Stop fretting, will you?” Cried Loki for the third time, as Peter began pacing the room. “Shuri can hack the cams perfectly well, they won’t know what we’re doing until we’re gone!”

 

“I’m still worried! I mean, I know I go against Mr. Stark sometimes, but this is big.” Peter cried back. He ran a hand through his soft brown hair, breaking any tangles his fingers came in contact with. 

 

Shuri cocked her head and gave Peter a deadpan glare from across the room. “Peter, just relax, would you? I’ve put on a vine compilation.” Shuri tilted her head towards the TV sitting on the wall, where a paused vine compilation was projected. “Now sit down and I’ll put it on play.” 

 

It was almost midnight, and Loki, Peter and Shuri were waiting for all of the Avengers to go to bed. Thor and Bruce had retired to bed early, given that them being asleep would give them a good alibi. Only Tony was still awake, typing away on a computer in his lab. Shuri had hacked into the cams in Tony’s lab, just to watch him and see when he’d go to sleep. Peter, Shuri and Loki had been going over their plans for a while, but Peter was still nervous about the whole thing. He knew Stark Tower was heavily secured, so part of him still worried that something would go wrong and he’d get in trouble. 

 

Shuri stood up, walked over to Peter and placed a hand on his shoulder. “This’ll work, I guarantee it. If it doesn’t, I can be stripped of my title of genius, alright?” She tilted her head, and gave Peter a soft, warm look. “This will work.” 

 

Peter sighed, but nodded. “Can you hand me that cup of coffee?” He asked, and Shuri glanced at the mug of coffee Loki had made just two minutes prior. Shuri nodded, stood up, grabbed the mug and handed it to Peter, who took it with two hands and gulped it down. 

 

“Careful, you’ll scorch your mouth, young spider.” Loki remarked, glancing over at Peter, who finished off the mug of coffee. “We can’t be doing this with you in the ER for a burnt mouth.” 

 

Shuri tossed Loki a _you’re-not-helping_ look before turning back to Peter. Her eyes softened, giving Peter a kind look, and Peter nodded without Shuri even having to say anything. Shuri stood and walked back over to her setup, and began typing in commands. Loki waved his hand and conjured up a small glass filled a quarter of the way with ice cold water, and Peter took a small swig of it to cool his throat. Shuri clicked play on the vine compilation and turned it to half volume; despite the floors and ceilings of Stark Tower being 90% soundproof, and the walls being 75% soundproof, Shuri still wanted to make sure no one would wake up from the vine compilation playing. Peter’s eyes focused on the vine compilation, and Shuri took a bit of time to watch it while simultaneously typing in commands that would reset the cameras when she clicked the enter key. Her goal was to have the cameras playback for an entire three minutes, so that it would appear that Brock was just sleeping lazily in the room he was caged in. Three minutes wasn’t too long, but it was all Shuri could grant them. Stark Tower had such excellent defenses, that she knew that any more time than three minutes would spark curiosity in JARVIS, who would alert Tony Stark that something was amiss. Thus, Shuri knew their plan had to be executed with utmost speed and determination. She kept a close eye on the traffic cams, awaiting the arrival of Anne and anyone else she was bringing with her. Shuri had been looking up information on Anne Weying, trying to figure out how she’d arrive and by what means. By car was the most reasonable option. 

 

At a quarter to one in the morning, Shuri’s attention was caught by a car driving towards Stark Tower. It was the exact same make and model as the car Anne Weying drove. She jumped up, catching the attention of both Peter and Loki. 

 

“Weying is on her way here right now. Loki, you hurry to the next building over, greet her and pull her into the building. I’ll hack the doors so no alarm goes off when Anne walks in.” 

 

Loki nodded, and he ran off to the building next door, where he had told Anne to meet him. Shuri then typed hastily into her computer, bypassing the alarms on the security system and temporarily disabling them for long enough to allow Loki and Anne to get into Stark Tower without raising any alarms. Shuri then kept her eyes glued to the security cameras of the front door, and as soon as she saw the figure of Loki walk onto the first floor, she entered the code that started the three-minute playback.

 

“Alright, until Loki comes back onto the second floor, we’re blind.” She spoke, grabbing her computer in her arms. “Now, we gotta run down to the floor where Brock’s being kept, and wait outside the room until Loki gets back.” Peter nodded, and the two of them ran down to that floor. There they waited patiently until Loki returned with Anne and two others in tow. Shuri, by then, had hacked the cameras in the room they were in so Anne and the two people with her wouldn’t show up. 

 

“So you’re here to help us rescue Eddie?” Anne remarked, glancing at Peter and Shuri. Her face shone with skepticism. 

 

“Yes. Now, ma’am, we only have three minutes before JARVIS knows something’s wrong and alerts Stark. We need to get in there, get Eddie out and run. We can answer questions later.” Shuri explained, before pushing open the door. The creak of the door woke Eddie, who was confused to see Peter, Shuri and Loki. His face, however, split into a wide, relieved grin when he saw Anne and the two people with her. 

 

Shuri ran over to the door and typed in a code in the box next to it, and the door hissed open. Eddie stood and ran out, almost immediately falling into Anne’s arms. 

 

“Anne, I’m so happy to see you. _We’re_ so happy to see you.” He said breathlessly. “And Dan! Wade! It’s been too long.” 

 

“Yes yes, we know, now we need to leave.” Loki spoke before Anne could say anything in reply. “Everyone, interlock hands. Don’t question it, just do it.” Everyone clasped their hands together and formed a circle, and Loki placed one hand on Peter’s shoulder, the other on Shuri’s, and with a _whoosh_ , all eight (or really nine, including Scott who was shrunk in Anne’s pocket) of them were gone. 

 

When their eyes opened, they were in Scott’s house, all the way back in San Francisco. The sudden appearance of the nine of them earned a yelp from Luis, who had been housesitting for Scott while he was away. 

 

Scott took that moment to hop out of Anne’s pocket and zap himself back to normal size, which only earned another yelp from a very startled Luis.

 

“It’s alright, Luis. These are my friends.” Scott spoke in a dulcet tone, and Luis, still startled and on the floor, nodded. “They’re gonna be staying here for a little while.” 

 

“Does this mean I can go back to my place? Because, no offense dude, that pet giant ant you have creeps me out sometimes.” Luis spoke, and Scott nodded. “Alright. I’ll see you soon, Scotty.” And with that, Luis grabbed his bags and headed out. 

 

“We’ll need to hide here for however long it takes to convince those lunatic Avengers that Eddie and Venom mean no harm.” Anne spoke breathlessly, a bit startled herself after suddenly teleporting to another state.

 

“Give them four days. That should be ample time for them to stop their mad quest for Eddie.” Loki responded, sitting down in a bean bag chair he conjured up. “Now, we can all introduce ourselves and ask any questions you might have.” His eyes glanced over Anne, Dan, Scott and Wade in turn, and Anne nodded. 

 

“Alright then. Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Anne Weying, Eddie’s ex-fiancee.” 

 

“My name is Loki,” Loki began, not bothering to stand up, “Ex-King of Asgard, adopted son of Odin, God of Mischief, and lover of snakes.”

 

“My name is Shuri, princess of Wakanda and leader of the Mischief Trio.” Shuri exclaimed joyfully, cocking her head to the side with a smile. 

 

“And I am Peter, Peter Parker. You probably know me as Spiderman.” Spoke Peter, who sheepishly shrugged his shoulders. 

 

“Hey, Spiderman! I know you.” Scott cried, walking over and softly punching Peter’s shoulder. “I fought against you at that airport in Germany, remember?”

 

“Oh yeah! You turned yourself into a giant.” Peter remarked, smiling. Scott nodded. 

 

“My name’s Wade Wilson.” Spoke Wade, who stood in the corner, fully dressed in his suit. He cocked his head, then grinned. “Spiderman, huh? I’ve heard a lot about you, kid.” He turned his head to Loki. “And you’re Loki, huh? I’ve heard of you too. Nearly took over New York, last time I heard.” 

 

Loki turned his head and gazed at Wade, who was grinning through his mask. “You’re Deadpool, I presume?” When Wade nodded, Loki sighed. “Of course. I’ve heard of you too. Bit of a troublemaker, you are.” 

 

“Oh, like you aren’t.” Deadpool joked. 

 

“I never said I wasn’t.” Loki tugged a little at a loose strand of his hair. “You are a rather complex and yet simple man with quite the personality, as I’ve heard.” 

 

“Is that your way of flirting or are you always like this?” Deadpool divulged, and Loki rolled his eyes. Deadpool laughed and turned his head to the others. “Well, it’s 1 am and I’ve been up since 5 this morning. Mind if I go to bed?” The others nodded, and Deadpool took a step towards the stairs. “Alrighty. You guys have fun asking questions and stuff.” And as Deadpool walked up the stairs, Eddie turned his head to Loki. 

 

“Why did you rescue me?” Eddie questioned. 

 

“I figured it would be a fun way of getting back at the Avengers for locking me up all those years ago.” Loki explained. “Besides, a cage is no place to stay.” Loki finally stood up, and took a few steps over towards Eddie. “Now if you don’t mind, I would like to hear your story again, but with more detail.” 

 

Eddie tilted his head. “What do you want to hear?”

 

“Everything.”


	11. Not as bad as he seems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony holds an emergency meeting to try and find Peter, Shuri, Loki and Eddie. Eddie enjoys his first day of freedom after the whole ordeal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 11! At this rate the story is probably gonna end up being 15 chapters (If I don't have anything left ovet to wrap up when I finish the fifteenth chapter that is). Also, once again, thanks so much for all of tbe positive feedback! It's inspiring me so much that I literally wrote 3000 words in this story on Friday (not kidding) 
> 
> Also, I really need to give Venom more lines in this story tbh

“They’re gone. They’re fucking gone!” Tony exclaimed in frustration, pacing the floor of the main room. The rest of the Avengers were seated in different parts of the room, all of them looking quite serious except for Bruce and Thor, who were both looking somewhat passive. Loki, Peter, Shuri and Brock had all disappeared the night prior, along with Valkyrie, who had simply up and left Stark Tower and ran off. Tony had woken up at 8 that morning to check the cameras and see that Brock had vanished, and he almost immediately called a meeting. When everyone came down to see what the meeting was about, they had found Tony having somewhat of an anxiety attack, pacing the room.

 

“Tony, relax. We’ll find them.” Natasha murmured, glancing worriedly at Tony. Her eyes were narrowed, a bit of a comforting warmth glowing softly in them. Her pose made her look quite sympathetic, which was exactly what she was going for.

 

“How? Peter’s got his phone turned off and it’s untraceable, and none of my tech is getting a lock on Loki’s signature. Shuri’s made her devices untraceable as well. I can’t track any of them!”

 

“Loki can teleport himself places, can’t he?” Clint spoke up. “He probably teleported himself, Peter, Shuri and Brock somewhere.” Clint, while he was worried, seemed a bit more relaxed than the others (excluding Bruce and Thor, who were quite passive).

 

“The problem is where.” Steve spoke up, glancing at Tony, who was still pacing. Dr. Strange had resided to standing up and holding Tony by the arms, trying to get him to stop pacing. Strange placed a hand on Tony’s cheek, murmuring to him in a soft, mellow voice, trying to calm him down. Tony was still stiff, the mellow voice of Strange doing little to calm him, but he found himself falling into the embrace.

 

“There has to be a way of tracking them.” Bucky remarked, stretching his arms. He was laying on the couch, his head in Steve’s lap. Steve was running a hand through Bucky’s soft, brown locks, as a way of calming himself down.

 

“I don't know what to track.” Tony admitted, finally releasing himself into the warm embrace of Dr. Strange. Strange was warm and smelled of medicine, light chemicals and hospital rooms, but it oddly calmed him down. Perhaps it was the hint of citrus lingering on his sweater, as Strange had spilled an orange onto his sweater days before, and the smell was still there. Whatever it was, Tony began to actually calm down. Strange began to run a hand through Tony’s hair, rubbing slow circles under his cheek. Even Strange’s cloak began to run softly at Tony’s back, wrapping around him slightly. “Peter left his suit here, and that is the only thing of his with a tracker than only I can turn off.”

 

“We’ll find them.” Natasha murmured, her voice low and mellow. She had her head tilted to the side, with her short red hair falling slightly onto her shoulders. She held a hand out and placed a quick and fleeting hand onto Tony’s shoulder. “Think. Where would they go to hide?”

 

“I’d imagine Brock would want to go back to San Francisco, but we could easily find him there. I can't think of anywhere else he’d go, though, besides San Francis-” Clint paused, and turned to face Thor. “Would Loki have taken Brock and the kids to New Asgard?”

 

“No newcomers can really enter New Asgard without my permission.” Thor replied in a hearty voice, his arms wrapped around Bruce. Bruce was wrapped in his embrace, looking quite small against the god’s large frame. “Loki knows this as well as I. I doubt he’d go against me, with Heimdall around to alert me.”

 

“So, he must’ve gone back to San Francisco.” Clint muttered. “But he’s definitely not dumb enough to go back to his house. If he's there, he must have another safe house.”

 

“Are you sure the cameras went offline?” Bruce questioned. His voice was innocent, innocent enough to not raise suspicion, even though he knew that the cameras had indeed been offline.

 

Tony turned and glanced briefly at Bruce, before his eyes glanced back to Strange, who was still holding onto him. “It could’ve been Shuri or Peter, both of them have the technological knowledge. One of them must’ve set the cameras on playback, because there is absolutely no footage of them leaving at all, yet they did at some point.” Tony turned and fell back into Strange’s embrace. The room briefly fell into silence, as everyone sat in deep thought.

 

“We’ll find a way to track them.” Bucky murmured, his head still on Steve’s lap. “I’m sure of it.”

 

~~~~~

 

Eddie woke up to a loud and bustling house. The noise that almost immediately filled his ears was a stark difference to the typical quiet of the room he was being kept in.

 

 ** _We got out._** Venom murmured, their voice low and sweet, filled with relief. **_Rescued. By Anne and Dan, and others. Scott, that Loki, and the two kids._**

 

 _Oh, right._ Thought Eddie, and he sat up, rubbing his eyes as the light filtered through the windows. It was 10 in the morning, the warmth of the San Francisco sun filling the room. It may have been December, but San Francisco was definitely warmer than New York City.

 

As soon as Eddie sat up, Scott turned and opened his arms. “Eddie! You’re up!” He walked over and gave Eddie a quick hug, then stood back up and handed Eddie a plate of chicken. Eddie licked his lips and devoured all of the chicken in seconds, then glanced back up at Scott, who had a slight bit of surprise in his eyes. “I’m guessing you’re really hungry, hm?”

 

“They didn’t really feed us that well in there.” Eddie remarked in reply, shrugging his shoulders. His eyes turned to glance at Loki, who was sitting on a bean bag chair in the corner, his head laid back and his eyes closed. “Is he awake?”

 

Scott glanced at Loki, then stood up and walked over to the bean bag chair and jostled it a little. When Loki made no movement, Scott turned to Eddie and shook his head.

 

“Do you know how to wake him up?” Eddie asked, and Scott glanced back down at the sleeping god. Scott pressed a foot against the bean bag and jostled it again, hoping to wake Loki.

 

Loki finally stirred and sat up a little in his bean bag, then his green eyes flitted over to Eddie. He stood up and groaned, stretching a little. “Good morning, Brock.” Loki murmured, pressing his hand against the wall. “I see you’re awake, and still hungry.” He gestured to the empty plate.

 

“Yeah.” Eddie said with a nod, and Loki grabbed the bean bag in his hand and heaved it up. “Hey, uh, thanks for hearing us out all last night.”

 

“Of course. It’s the first time I’ve come face-to-face with a Klyntar. And the one you’re carrying along, they’re quite interesting.” He cocked his head somewhat, then glanced at Eddie again. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you and that alien pal of yours a bit more.”

 

Eddie tilted his head, a bit confused, before Loki walked out of the room. Scott also left the room, going to the kitchen to fetch more food. At the sudden emptiness of the room, Venom darted out and rubbed itself against Eddie’s face, making a smile spread across Eddie’s face. Venom pressed a kiss onto Eddie’s lips, and Eddie returned it, until-

 

“Is this allowed?” Cried Shuri, a laughing tone in her voice. Eddie jerked and looked up at Shuri, who was laughing. “Sorry for interrupting, but I was wondering how you two are doing.” She tilted her head and sat down in a bean bag in the corner of the room. “Are you doing okay?”

 

Eddie nodded, then tilted his head and glanced at Shuri. “Hey, you’re Shuri, right?” Shuri nodded, and Eddie glanced at her, Venom holding steady over his shoulder. “Why did you help us?”

 

Her eyes softened, as if she had been expecting that question. “To be honest, I went with it at first because Loki wanted to, and I figured a little rebellion is good every once in a while. Though, I watched over you a bit, and I have to say you’re one of my favorite broken white boys.” Shuri explained, her voice a bit jovial.

 

She had an air of joy mixed with dignity about her. She was different than most people Eddie had come across. She was obviously of high intellect; she held herself the same way Tony Stark and Bruce Banner did. Eddie had come across enough intelligent people, enough geniuses, to recognize one by the way they held themselves. Whether prideful like Tony Stark or shy like Bruce Banner, all geniuses had a certain way of holding themselves, one different than most people. She held herself the same way, and also had the same air of dignity he had seen in Tony Stark, Carlton Drake and Loki. And yet, she had all the behaviors and traits of a typical girl her age; the youthful energy, the fatalistic humor and the occasional meme reference. She wasn't stiff or cold, but rather excitable and warm, with almost boundless energy. She was quite a strange person, Eddie gathered.

 

“Oh… kay.” Eddie remarked, and Shuri laughed.

 

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m like this with everyone.” She said with a laugh. “I’ll be in the other room, with Peter. Don't be afraid to call if you need anything.” She gestured to the other room, then nodded and walked off. Eddie watched her go, then his attention was caught once again by Scott, carrying a plate of tater tots and chocolate pudding. Eddie nearly leapt into his arms as a thank you, before taking the plate of tater tots and eating them hastily.

 

“Slow down, Eddie. Your food isn't gonna disappear. You have time to eat.” Remarked Anne, leaning up against the doorframe to the kitchen. She smiled warmly and walked up to Eddie, giving him a hug. “How are you two doing?”

 

“Great, now that you guys rescued us.” Eddie replied in a muffled voice, stuffing another handful of tater tots into his mouth. Venom formed over Eddie’s shoulder and began devouring tater tots, giving Eddie the chance to speak. “I know I told you not to risk yourselves, but I’m kinda glad you did.”

 

“What can I say?” Cried a voice from the kitchen. “I love a bit of good ol fashioned danger every once in a while.” With that, in walked Deadpool, still fully clothed in his signature red and black suit, two sharp yet sheathed katanas on his back. He strolled over and sat down on a chair across from Eddie, a boyish grin showing through his mask.

 

“Wade, nice to see you again.” Eddie remarked, smiling. He hadn't seen Wade in at least four weeks. It wasn't too long, but it was long enough that Eddie had started to miss the wise-cracking troublemaker.

 

Eddie had originally met the merc with a mouth back in 2016, when Eddie was chasing a story that lead him to Wade. Wade seemed to take a liking to Eddie, and he’d flirt with him every now and again. Eddie never really seemed to mind, particularly since he knew Wade wasn't suggesting anything nor was he actually interested. Eddie had known Wade long enough to know that he flirted with quite a few people, whether male, female, both or neither. Because of that, Eddie was never put off by Wade’s flirting.

 

“It's nice to see you two, too.” Wade replied, tilting his head. “Those Avengers got you huh? I mean, I love those Avengers, but they don't really think a lot of things through, do they? I say that because I don't think anything through either, so I know their thought process.”

 

“Takes one to know one?” Eddie asked, and Wade nodded. Eddie laughed a little, as Venom hummed in agreement, too busy eating to laugh.

 

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Loki murmured as he walked back into the room, a phone in his hand. His green eyes flitted to Deadpool, then to Eddie, then to Venom hovering over Eddie’s shoulder. “My brother just called. He says the Avengers are trying to track us right now, but so far, they haven't any luck.”

 

“Good.” Eddie sighed, his shoulders relaxing almost immediately. “I would rather not go back there, ever again.”

 

Loki nodded his head. “I can see why. My brother says his boyfriend is trying to steer everyone off of your trail.”

 

“Your brothers boyfriend?” Eddie asked, tilting his head curiously. “Wait, your brother is Thor, right?”

 

“My brother is Thor, and his stupidly kind boyfriend is that scientist, Bruce Banner.” Loki informed, putting the phone back up to his ears. “No brother, I was not talking to you. Yes, Brock is here. He’s doing alright.”

 

Loki walked back out of the room, still talking on the phone with his brother. Once Loki left, Deadpool turned back to face Eddie. “So, how are you and your boy toy doing?”

 

“V’s not my boy toy,” Eddie corrected, “But we’re alright. Hungry. It's been almost four days since we’ve eaten properly.”

 

“I could find you a head, if you want.” Wade suggested, and he glanced at Eddie’s face. “Hey, I’m a mercenary. I know how to hide bodies. The Avengers won't be able to trace it back to you. And, besides, we could drive to some city a couple hours away, or something like that. Keep those Avengers off your trail.”

 

“No, they’d probably catch my face on a traffic cam or something.” Eddie remarked solemnly. “I’m gonna have to stay inside for a while, or at least avoid any and all traffic cams while I’m out.”

 

Wade sighed and sat down next to him. “You can't starve yourself, Eddie. You two are gonna have to eat pretty soon here. Whenever you two get hungry, tell me. I’ll help you out. Plus, doesn't hurt to have a giant alien boy toy owe you one, huh?”

 

 ** _“Not a boy toy.”_** Spoke Venom aloud, and Wade just laughed as he walked off into another room. Anne watched Wade leave, then turned to face Eddie.

 

“Was bringing him along your idea?” Eddie asked, and Anne chuckled lowly and nodded.

 

“I figured he could be of help. And, you two are friends. I figured he’d want to help you out if he was given the chance.” She folded her arms, tugging a bit at the beige-colored turtleneck she was wearing. She gazed solemnly at Eddie and Venom. “They didn't… do anything to you two, right?”

 

“You mean torture us?” Anne nodded, and Eddie shook his head. “Nah. Worst they did was not feed us. They mainly asked questions, wanted to know everything about V. Wanted to know why they were, quote on quote, ‘controlling me’.” Eddie used air quotation marks to get his point across, and watched as relief spread across Anne’s face. That relief, however, was short lived, and soon, a look of irritation spread across her face instead.

 

“Of course they’d think that.” Anne muttered. “Never ones to think they're wrong, are they? They see a situation where you, for example, eat a bad guy to save a woman. They only see you eating the bad guy. They don't see you rescuing that poor woman.”

 

“That's just the Avengers for you.” Eddie remarked dryly.

 

“Not all of them are bad.” Spoke a voice from the doorway. Eddie turned to see one of the two teenagers, that kid named Peter, standing there, Shuri right behind him. He was standing somewhat awkwardly against the doorframe, but he moved to sit down in one of the bean bag chairs in the room. “Dr. Banner is really nice, and so is Thor. All of them are nice, it's just, they may not stop to try and understand things or situations they don't understand.”

 

Shuri moved to sit down next to Peter, her hair falling onto her shoulder as she did so. “I agree with Peter. Those Avengers, they are smart, they just lack some common sense. Many of them, but not all, do not think twice to try and understand a situation that they have already prejudged, or one that has been judged for them.”

 

“I know it's not all of them.” Eddie admitted, lowering his eyes. “I’m not trying to blame all of them. I'm just saying, them saying we’re bad? We’re evil, for killing villains to protect people? That sure is the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it?”

 

Anne, Peter and Shuri all nodded in agreement. “Look,” Spoke Shuri, “I made sure to cover my tracks perfectly. They will not be able to track you here, I’m sure of it. But you will need to eat sooner or later, I know that.” She cocked her head, and when Eddie did not answer, she took the silence as agreement. “Tell me when that alien boyfriend of yours gets hungry. We’ll figure out something that won’t draw any attention.”

 

Eddie sighed, and Anne rested her hand gently on his wrist, her blue eyes giving him an almost pleading look. He lowered his head and nodded, and Anne rubbed his wrist a little. “We’ll figure something out, Eddie. I promise you that. ” And with that, she got up to go find Dan, and left Eddie sitting on the couch with the kids right by him.

 

“I don’t care what Mister Stark thinks,” Peter began, “I think that alien of yours is really cool.” Peter gave Eddie a smile, a large, bright smile, brighter than what Eddie was used to. Peter then stood and grabbed Shuri’s wrist, and Shuri waved goodbye to Eddie, and the two walked towards up the stairs and out of the room, leaving Eddie and Venom alone once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of maybe making this into a series, with the second work being my take on Carnage and Venom/Eddie teaming up with the Avengers to stop their kid. Would any of you want that?


	12. Tracking and sleep deprivation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers start to worry when Tony's anxiety-induced-insomnia flares back up. Eddie enjoys another day of freedom with the mischief trio and his other friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 12! A bit on the shorter side but still exceeding 2000 words.. I go a bit overboard but at the same time these chapters could be a lot longer if I really tried, haha
> 
> (Also, I explained the timeline a bit at the end of this chapter)

“Any luck tracking them?” Were the first words out of Steve’s mouth the next morning as he walked into the main room, Bucky practically glued to his waist. Steve was fully awake, with his blonde hair ruffled from bedhead, his blue eyes a little tired and a mug of coffee in his hand. Bucky was half-asleep, his brown hair a complete mess, his crystalline eyes staring half-lidded around the room as he was dragged along with Steve. Steve sat on the couch, giving Bucky the option of laying down, and glanced at Tony, who was typing on the computer. His brown eyes were wide and red, circles underneath them. He obviously hadn’t slept at all the night prior.

 

“No, none at all.” Tony remarked, shaking his head as he let his eyes drift back to the computer screen. “I’ve been looking into every possible safe house Brock could have. I can't find anything.”

 

Steve’s eyes softened as he looked at Tony. Tony’s eyes were red with circles underneath them, his hair was messy and unkempt, and his skin was the slightest bit sallow. It was well known among the Avengers that Tony had insomnia; many of them had woken up before at odd times of the night only to find Tony awake, working on something in his lab. Strange had even taken to magically locking the door of their room so Tony couldn't creep out in the middle of the night; Tony still found ways to get out, though. Sleep-deprived Tony was a common sight to the Avengers, but anxiety-induced-sleep-deprived Tony was a sight a bit more uncommon. They had seen it before, but it was always alarming.

 

“Tony, we’ll find them.” Steve remarked, his voice low and mellow. Tony lifted his head at the words, and then let his head back down and sighed.

 

“I know we will, I just… I don't like not knowing where Peter is. He could be hurt.”

 

“Shuri’s with him. I doubt he’s hurt.”

 

Tony looked up at the remark, and something in his eyes washed away, perhaps some inch of anxiety. In the 7 and a half months since the Avengers had all met Shuri, she had proven multiple times that she was very capable of taking care of herself and others. Even Tony had been impressed with the vibranium technology she had invented, from her kimoyo beads to the blasters she wielded as weapons. And so, he looked a little less anxious when he finally glanced back at his screen.

 

“Still worrying about Peter?” Came a soothing voice from the other room. Steve peered over his shoulder to see Natasha, still dressed in pajamas (albeit not hers) leaning against the door frame. She straightened and walked over to Tony, grabbed his chair and swiveled it into the center of the room, away from his holographic computer. “You need to rest, Tony. Staying up all night panicking isn't going to help you find Peter.”

 

“She's got a point.” Came Clint’s muffled voice from the vents. Natasha gave a brief glance up at the vents before looking back down at Tony.

 

“Go. Sleep. Now.” She spoke, punctuating every word as she pulled Tony up by his shirt collar and started to tug him along towards the elevator. 

Tony still refused to move, so Natasha whistled, and in soared Strange’s cloak. The cloak wrapped itself around Tony, and Natasha dragged the cloak (with Tony wriggling inside of it) towards the elevator. The door opened almost immediately, and once Natasha and Tony were inside, the doors closed and the elevator glided upwards, leaving Steve and Bucky in silence.

 

Natasha returned a few minutes later (Tony and the cloak gone) and sat herself down in a chair opposite of Steve and Bucky. Bucky was now a bit more awake, but was still laying down with his head in Steve’s lap. Steve was running a hand absentmindedly through Bucky’s hair, humming tunes of 1920s jazz songs while he drank his coffee. As soon as Natasha sat down and sank into the couch, Steve stopped humming and peered over at Natasha, who sighed as she sat down.

 

“He’s in bed, finally. Strange is gonna watch over him to make sure he actually sleeps.” Her eyes glanced at the elevator, then over to Steve, and then they fluttered closed. “I doubt Peter’s in any danger, but it still worries me, not knowing where he is. God knows Tony’s beating himself up for letting Peter escape.”

 

“Peter’s basically his son. Of course he’s beating himself up over it.” Steve said with a sigh, absentmindedly running a hand over Bucky’s shoulder. “That's just Tony.”

 

“Unfortunately.” Natasha remarked with a sigh. She ran a quick hand through her messy red hair, still unbrushed and messy from bedhead. She tugged a little at the pajama pants she had “borrowed” from Steve (Natasha had picked up a habit of stealing clothes from the other Avengers- they suspected she was doing it to establish dominance, and none of them were brave enough to try and stop her) and began to absentmindedly play with the string. “I just hope Tony forgives himself. He’s got enough on his plate already. And god knows he cares a lot about that kid.”

 

Steve nodded in agreement, peering at the elevator that Tony had gone into. While few of them would say it to Tony’s face, all of the Avengers worried about him. Even Bucky, and Bucky still wasn't on the best of terms with Tony. You’d think being engaged to Captain America, Tony’s friend, would do something to make Tony like you, but Tony was still wary of Bucky. Not that Bucky really blamed him.

 

“Did Tony finally go to sleep?” Asked Bruce, ambling sleepily into the room. Thor walked in right behind him, carrying a mug of coffee in one hand, the other resting on Bruce’s shoulder. Bruce sat down on a different couch than the one Steve was on, and Thor sat right next to him, almost immediately wrapping an arm around Bruce.

 

“Against his will, yes.” Natasha replied, and Bruce nodded, rubbing his hands together slightly. As he did so, Thor seemed to recognize the small behavior as a sign of anxiety, and began rubbing small circles into Bruce’s knuckles. It was a small gesture, but it calmed Bruce down nonetheless.

 

“At least he's actually in bed.”

 

Thor sat closer to Bruce and dug his face into Bruce’s neck, as Bruce took the mug of coffee from Thor’s hand and took a sip from it. As Bruce drank from the mug, Natasha stood and walked over towards the door to the kitchen. “I’m going to try and fix up some breakfast. Anyone want anything particular?” When everyone shook their heads, she dipped into the kitchen without another word, plunging the room back into silence.

 

~~~~~

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead!” Cried Wade, as he slapped Eddie in the face with a pillow to wake him up. Venom almost immediately darted out and snapped at Wade, who yelped and fell, quite ungraciously, to the floor. A burst of laughter sounded from the hallway, where Scott stood, filming Wade. The burst of laughter stirred Eddie from sleep, and he lifted his head, only to see Wade still laying on the floor while Scott wheezed with laughter in the hallway. Eddie lifted his head up and sat up groggily, gazing with sleepy, half-lidded eyes at the sight before him.

 

“Is this your way of waking me up?” Eddie grunted, cocking his head. Wade lifted his head from his spot on the floor, gazed at Eddie, then laid his head back down.

 

“It _was_ his idea, though it didn’t work out like he planned.” Came Anne’s voice, and Eddie looked up to see her standing next to Scott. She smiled and walked into the room, stepping over Wade to pick the pillow up. She clasped it in her hand and set it back down onto the bed, a few inches from Eddie’s head. “Dan made breakfast, buttermilk waffles with syrup. Come down when you’re ready.”

 

Anne then stepped back over Wade, out into the hallway and past Scott. Scott finally ceased his laughter and walked into the room to help Wade up, holding a hand out. Wade took it, and then suddenly tugged Scott down onto the floor with him. Eddie sighed and shook his head as Scott and Wade began squabbling on the floor.

 

“You two are idiots.” Eddie remarked as he gazed at the two, still squabbling on the floor.

 

“And you make three.” Wade said with a laugh, glancing up at Eddie. “The idiot three!”

 

Eddie sighed, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he got up and stepped over the two of them, into the hallway. Wade pushed Scott over and scrambled to follow Eddie downstairs for some breakfast.

 

Peter and Shuri were sat at the table, right next to each other, pulling up memes on their phones and laughing as they scooped up mouthfuls of waffles. Dan was still cooking up some waffles in the kitchen, standing next to the oven while Anne, who sat on a barstool a few feet away, hummed tunes to herself. Loki was shoving forkfuls of waffles into his mouth, humming classic Asgardian songs whenever his mouth wasn’t full. Eddie sat down at the table across from Peter and next to Loki. Dan walked over to the table and set a plate of three waffles down in front of Eddie.

 

“Thanks, Dan.” Eddie remarked, and Dan just nodded before setting a plate of waffles down in front of Peter, who had just finished off his first plate of waffles. Peter laughed in joy at the second plate, took another forkful of waffle and stuffed it into his mouth. Shuri took a picture of him with cheeks stuffed full of food, then she pulled the photo up and showed it to him, which made both of them burst into fits of laughter. Wade ambled into the room, followed by Scott, and the two of them sat on opposite sides of the table. Dan set plates of waffles in front of both of them, and they both began to eat eagerly. Dan smiled a little before he walked back into the kitchen and continued cooking up some more waffles.

 

Breakfast passed by quickly, with everyone talking jovially around the table. Eddie couldn’t remember another time when he had been sitting, talking happily with so many people. The dynamic among everyone sitting at the table was something Eddie had rarely seen.

 

When everyone was done eating, Anne and Dan started washing the plates, Anne humming tunes while Dan struck up a conversation with Scott. Meanwhile, Shuri and Wade sat Eddie down to try and talk about the whole food situation, as Venom had started nagging at Eddie so much that the others had noticed.

 

“Eddie, you’re gonna have to eat.” Wade spoke, rubbing his hands together. “I know you don’t want to because you’ll draw attention, but there are ways to eat without drawing attention.”

 

“How?” Eddie asked, tilting his head.

 

“Simple. The way they tracked you is by missing heads.” Shuri remarked, sitting up, “If you somehow get a victim that’s different to that, then they won’t be able to track you. Wouldn’t hurt to also go to some far off city, like San Diego. I know their way of thinking.”

 

“Besides, we can try and convince them that they’re wrong about you.” Wade suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

 

“You really think they’d even listen?” Eddie scoffed. “They refused to listen to me the entire time I was locked up. When they had me caged in there, no matter how many times I told them, how many times we told them, that we aren’t evil, they didn’t listen.”

 

“They might listen to me.” Came a voice, and the three of them turned to see Peter standing there. “Mr. Stark trusts me. He’ll probably listen to me. And, I don’t think you’re evil.” Peter walked over and sat down next to Shuri, then rubbed his hands together and glanced at Eddie. “I mean, you haven’t even tried to remotely hurt any of us in the past day. I don’t think you’re that bad.”

 

“Well, thanks, kid. You said you’re Spiderman, right?” Peter nodded, and Eddie sighed a little, and his gray blue eyes glanced across Peter’s face. “I’ve seen a lot of what you’ve done. You’re pretty good, from a superhero standpoint.”

 

Peter sat up a little, cocked his head and smiled. “Thanks.”

 

“Well, Eddie, we’ll need to get you some food.” Wade spoke up, standing up. Before Eddie could protest, Wade grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out the front door and into one of Scott’s cars, and the two took off towards San Diego to find Venom a bad guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding a line in this chapter: yes, Steve and Bucky are engaged during this story! I had them get engaged the day after they defeated Thanos (and I know IW is set in August but I have it happening in April because this is my fic and I can) so they've been engaged for around 8 months by this fic's timeline. Also, Anne and Dan have been dating for around 7 months, as have Tony and Dr. Strange, whilst Thor has been dating Bruce for a little over a year. Hope this clears any questions any of you have about the timeline up! ^^


	13. Savior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deadpool takes Eddie to find a head for Venom, and during their search, they save a kid. The Avengers find out and question whether Brock's really the villain they've painted him as

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //Small trigger warning for mentions of physical abuse against a child (it ties into the bad guy Venom finds)//
> 
> Chapter 13! Your feedback has been making me write like crazy lately! I only wrote 300 words today though, as personal issues distracted me, but I should finish writing this story by Saturday and be able to start on the sequel in time to give myself a headstart!

The cold, brisk December air of San Francisco felt good against Eddie’s skin. He had his arm leaning out of the car door window, partly because he liked the breeze, and mostly because Venom had been nagging him.

 

 ** _Cool air is nice. We like cool air._** Venom murmured, settling along Eddie’s arm to feel more of the air. Eddie smiled slightly at the content feeling that rushed through their bond.

 

 _Well, San Francisco definitely has plenty of cool air._ Eddie thought back, smiling.

 

**_Yes. We like it here._ **

 

Eddie nodded absentmindedly, staring out of the window as the buildings flew past in a blur of color. They were pretty much out of San Francisco now, and Eddie could see the sun sitting plainly in the cloudless sky above the bay. Deadpool was driving, dressed almost entirely in his suit except for his mask, which he had put on Eddie’s face to shield Eddie from any traffic cams.

 

An hour passed before the two finally reached San Diego. When they did, Deadpool pulled into a small parking lot that had no cameras nearby, and he opened the car door and pulled his mask back on.

 

“We’re here.” He spoke, holding the car door open for Eddie. Eddie pushed his hand lightly against the car door before sliding himself over the seat and out onto the pavement.

 

Eddie stood tall and glanced around the small, decrepit parking lot Deadpool had pulled into. It was small, with only two other cars parked in. It was sandwiched between three buildings, making it practically a large alley that someone had put a parking lot in. Vines grew along the length of the wall of two of the buildings, and the third wall was cracked with tiles falling off and littering the cracked concrete below. The concrete was cracked and raised in some places, making it nearly impossible to park right against the corner of the left wall. The buildings were tall and rise high enough to somewhat block out the sun, casting a shadow onto most of the parking lot. Overall, it was a decaying, isolated place that no one would think to look in.

 

“Quite the strange place to park.” Eddie commented, glancing around. The windchill blew past him, raising a few goosebumps before Venom once again covered his torso and embraced Eddie in a warm hug.

 

“Yeah well, I figured, place like this, no one comes looking.” Wade said with a shrug, as he started walking out of the parking lot. “My suit’s probably gonna attract a lot of attention, which we can use to our advantage. You go find a bad guy, then send me a text when you do. I’ll come find you. Then, when I do my thing to whatever is left of that guy when Venom’s done, the Avengers will just think I carried out some hit.”

 

Eddie nodded in understanding, and Wade grinned and took off, walking down a street so people would see him. Eddie slinked off towards another alley, and prowled through alley after alley until he came across the first poor villainous s.o.b he could find. This particular person, a woman, was beating up a child in a dark alley. The child was crying, begging the woman to stop, while the woman just laughed and continued.

 

“Hey! Stop that!” Eddie yelled, and the woman paused her beating and lifted her head.

 

“What? I can't beat my own son?” The woman slurred, obviously drunk. Her face was plastered and pasty, shining white with hollow cheekbones and sallow skin. Her teeth were extremely yellowed, and her clothes were worn, dirty and slightly torn in some spots. Her hair was tangled and messy, draped lazily over her shoulder.

 

Meanwhile, the child was bright faced yet scared, fear etched onto every inch of his face. His clothes were worn and his hair was messy, and he had bruises on his arms. At the sight of those bruises, something welled up in Eddie, some burning hot anger.

 

“What kind of a mother beats her son?” He spat, his voice lethal.

 

The woman didn't pick up on the anger in his voice, but before she could respond, the child cried out, “She’s not my mother!”

 

“Shut up!” The woman yelled, and she smacked the child across his face again. Eddie didn't even give a warning before Venom surged up over him, covering every inch of his skin. The woman froze, something in her hollow eyes shaking. She fell to the ground in shock, and the child ran, right past Eddie, but tripped and fell helplessly onto the concrete. Venom made their way towards the woman, grabbing her by the neck and hoisting her into the air. With a loose tendril, Venom sent a quick text to Wade, and he was there in a flash. Wade picked the boy up and carried him out of the alley and sat him next to a building, telling the child to wait there before he ran back to the alley.

 

By then, Venom had already sunk their teeth into the woman’s neck, a sickening _crunch_ echoing through the partially empty alley. Blood poured down Venom and they lapped every bit of it up, absorbing it into their skin. Venom’s tongue plunged into the headless body with abandon, pulling out glistening organs and eating them whole. Once they were done, they tossed the empty thing onto the pavement and turned to face Wade, who was standing there with an odd, slightly sadistic curiosity burning in his eyes.

 

“Well, that's definitely eating a person.” Wade remarked, glancing at Eddie as Venom surged back into his body. Before Eddie could reply, Wade sliced the body up a bit and let Eddie walk out to look at the child. The child was shaking, scared but oblivious to what had just happened to the woman. Eddie held a hand out, and when the child took it, Eddie heaved the child up into his arms. The child wrapped his arms around Eddie’s neck and clung onto him desperately, as though he had been waiting for someone to save him.

 

“Let's get you to the hospital.” Eddie remarked, and he signaled for Wade to approach him. Wade nodded and took the child into his arms, and he walked off towards the local hospital, leaving Eddie to walk back to the car.

 

“How’s the kid?” Eddie asked when Deadpool returned. Eddie had been waiting by the car for nearly half an hour now. Venom had suggested finding another bad guy, but Eddie insisted that one was bad enough with the Avengers on their trail.

 

“He’s fine, a little banged up and traumatized but otherwise fine. Turns out he had been kidnapped four weeks ago. The hospital called his mom, so his parents should be with him in less than an hour. ” Wade remarked, shaking his head solemnly. “Anyways, wanna get back to the house? I got an appointment with some Netflix and a large cheese pizza waiting.”

 

Eddie laughed and shook his head. “Alright. Let's head back then.”

 

Eddie climbed back into the car and Wade started the car, and the two took off for San Francisco. Eddie took the time to stare out of the car window on the drive back, watching as buildings dissolved into blurs and as people turned miniscule the farther away they became. The sky was bright and blue and empty, not a cloud to be seen. It was a rather beautiful winter day. 

By the time they got back to Scott’s house, it was half past noon and everyone in the house was busy doing something. Since Peter, Shuri and Loki couldn’t go outside for fear of being seen and found by the Avengers (Sure, Loki could disguise himself, but he didn't want to leave his fellow mischief makers alone), they had settled for binge-watching movies on Netflix together, curled up in bean bags and thick blankets. Anne had gone shopping with Dan for groceries, as while she and Dan could just go back home, they had chosen to stay at Scott’s until everything was resolved. Scott, meanwhile, had gone to work at the security company he and his friends managed. Being so full of people, the house was always buzzing with activity. Scott had said the most people he ever had in his house was four others, with his friends and either daughter or girlfriend. He had said many times though, that he didn't mind having all these people in his house. “It's a nice difference to the silence I usually experience.” Scott would say. And so, everyone stayed in the house happily, talking and laughing and watching different things on the TV. It had been an amazingly fun two days for Eddie, compared to how little fun he usually had. The most fun he usually ever had was either when he went to the park with Anne or when he tried to teach Venom something and Venom just wasn’t picking it up (Which was only funny until Eddie had to explain something more than four times).

 

When Wade and Eddie walked in the front door, they were greeted by the mischief trio, who were still wrapped in blankets in front of the TV. Peter stuck a hand out from under the blankets and waved a hand at both Eddie and Wade. They both waved back, and Venom even shot out a tendril to wave at the three of them. Wade took a step towards them, glancing at the TV.

 

“Hey Spidey! Shuri! Loki! What are you wat- OH MY GOD IS THAT HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS MAKE WAY FOR ME!!!” Wade yelled, running towards them. With a flick of his wrist, Loki conjured up yet another bean bag and blanket, and Wade wrapped himself in the blanket and started eagerly watching the movie with them. Eddie laughed and walked into the kitchen, trying to find some sort of food for himself. He eventually settled on a brownie that Anne had made (being that it had chocolate, that would please Venom as well) and made his way to sit down with the others. Loki conjured up yet another blanket and bean bag, and Eddie wrapped himself with the blanket and sat down. Venom formed over his shoulder while simultaneously surging over his waist and torso (to keep Eddie warm), and began watching the movie.

 

When Anne and Dan got back around ten minutes later, the mischief trio (plus Venom, Eddie and Wade) were still huddled in front of the TV, but were now holding mugs of hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows. Anne set some bags down onto the table and looked over Eddie’s shoulder at the movie. She then signaled Dan and gasped “Its the Grinch!” before he too walked over and gazed at the TV. A small smile curved onto his lips as he watched the iconic character trudge around on screen.

 

“You’re more than welcome to join us.” Loki murmured, glancing over his shoulder to look at the couple. Anne glanced at him, and shook her head.

 

“Oh no, I’ve got to cook some lunch up. Thanks for the offer, though.” Anne replied before walking into the kitchen, Dan on her heel. Loki shrugged and turned back to watching the TV.

 

Half an hour later, Anne had fixed up plates of hamburgers and crescent rolls, and she gave each person in the house one burger and two crescent rolls (She gave Eddie two burgers, for Venom). Everyone thanked her as they began to eat, and Anne just smiled as she handed our drinks. Loki took a glass of wine, Shuri took sprite, Peter took some coca cola, Eddie took just plain water (He didn't want to drink alcohol with kids around, regardless of whether Venom would process it too quickly for him to get drunk or not), Wade took root beer and both Anne and Dan took water. The movie, however, ended pretty quickly after that, so Loki plugged in _Home Alone_ and soon, both Anne and Dan were sat on bean bags, wrapped in blankets and watching the TV eagerly. And as they all watched the TV together, any worry any of them had seemed to melt away for the moment.

 

~~~~~

 

“Hey guys? I think I found something!” Clint yelled, waving for the others. Tony ran to him and was there in a flash, while the others just chose to walk leisurely towards Clint (Tony was really the only one who was particularly bothered to find the others at this point; yes, everyone was worried about Peter and Shuri, but none of them- besides Thor- were too ecstatic to get Loki back so soon).

 

“A body was found in San Diego an hour ago. Head and organs missing, like usual, but this time, the body also had some limbs sliced off. Police noted that the severing was too clean to have been bitten; they think the victim’s arms were cut off with a blade of some sort. It might be related to Brock.” Clint relayed, his eyes scanning the screen. He lifted his hand and pointed at the article he had pulled up, along with the police report for it. 

 

“Were there any witnesses?” Tony asked, nervously kneading his hands together. Clint lowered his head to look back at the screen, and squinted his eyes.

 

“Yeah, there was.” Clint remarked, gliding his fingers across the article to highlight the sentences that were important. Once done with that, he began to speak again. “A kid, around the age of nine. Said some guy fitting Brock’s description walked into the alley and stopped the woman. Apparently the woman had kidnapped the kid and was beating him until Brock came along. The kid said Brock and another guy wearing a red and black suit saved him and took him to the hospital.”

 

“Brock saved a kid?” Bucky asked, tilting his head. Clint nodded and turned the computer screen to show everyone the details he had highlighted. Sure enough, the article claimed a 9 year old boy named Landon had been kidnapped four weeks ago, but was admitted to the hospital after being carried in by a man in a red and black suit. When asked what had happened, the kid claimed a man in a gray hoodie stopped the woman, and then suddenly the man turned solid black, as though some invisible person had poured tar onto him. The man then stopped the woman and rescued the kid.

 

Bucky and a few others, including Steve, Sam and Natasha stared in curiosity at the article; wasn't Brock supposed to be a bad guy? What was he doing saving a kid?

 

“Wait, is that…” Steve remarked, glancing at the hospital footage. His blue eyes stared calculatingly at the footage, and he suddenly reached out his hand and pointed at the footage. “That's Deadpool. What is he doing with Brock?”

 

Clint opened his mouth to speak, but Natasha beat him to it. “Looks like they're working together. They may be allies.” She paused, then tilted her head. “The more important question is, if Brock’s so evil, what is he doing saving a child?”

 

“What if he's not?” Piped up Bruce from the corner of the room. Everyone turned as Bruce walked in, holding a holographic screen. “I went back and talked to that woman I questioned, Mrs. Chen. She said Brock saved her from a guy who had been threatening her for weeks. And look, when Brock was caged up, he and that alien showed countless displays of affection. I think we got it all wrong about him.”

 

Tony stared at the screen, then back at Bruce, and shook his head. “No. That alien must be controlling him. It must've manipulated him, and now it's manipulated my kid!”

 

“Tony, I think Bruce may be right.” Bucky remarked softly, glancing over the footage of Brock in the cage. “Plus, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, Peter has amazing instincts and is a great judge of character. He can't be manipulated easily. And Shuri, same with her. I know from experience, she takes no shit and is an excellent judge of character. She's not one to be manipulated.”

 

Tony bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows, but before he could say anything, Thor walked in behind Bruce. “Barnes is right, you know. I have faced many Klyntars in battle. The one bonded to Brock is like none I’ve ever seen. It's not ruthless, not bloodthirsty or kill-happy like any of the Klyntars I’ve met. It seems to have a genuine tie to Brock and this planet. I think it would be unwise to continue to go after him.”

 

“Maybe we should all just think about it before we do anything further.” Strange suggested.

 

“Yes. Let's think this over.” Steve replied, and everyone in the room eventually nodded in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally getting close to the ending! I think I'm gonna have to stretch it out to 16 chapters, not that y'all are really gonna mind. Also, Tony's perspective in this is kinda complicated in my view; I guess the best way to explain it is that he just sees Brock as dangerous and stubbornly refuses to accept that Peter isn't in any danger. That's really the best way to put it, I guess
> 
> Also, I'm adding in little things to some characters that I didn't think of before, so three of the characters are gonna have traits in the last two-three chapters that weren't mentioned previously due to that. Hope this clears things up when it happens


	14. Caring and convincing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Strange reassures Tony that Peter is okay. Bucky and Steve reminisce, Thor has to drag Bruce out of bed to an Avengers meeting and Peter puts in a good word about Eddie to Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're coming to a close! It's looking like I'm gonna end up with only 16 chapters and an epilogue, so we're getting pretty close to the end of this story :(
> 
> Also: this chapter is mainly ship fillers as an excuse for me to actually write some ships into the story. So, enjoy some cute little ship moments in the midst of all the stress

Stark Tower was oddly quiet the next morning. Being that everyone was thinking things over, no one had gotten up to talk and eat together. Everyone ate on their separate floors, often in silence or in very little conversation. None of them had gone to another floor to eat or socialize like they normally did most mornings. Rather, each pair of them stayed on their floors that morning.

 

Steve and Bucky sat and reminisced over memories from when they were young. Tony sat in silence while Strange played some of Tony’s favorite movies in an attempt to cheer him up. Bruce and Thor were both still in bed, their arms wrapped around each other as they both slept peacefully. Thor was to return to New Asgard that day, so he was resting as much as he could.

 

Natasha was also awake and was watching reruns of crime shows while Clint crawled to the kitchen through the vents. Sam was still asleep on his floor, the floor that he actually shared with Steve and Bucky; albeit, he did have his own room and he usually stayed on his side, as to not walk in on Steve and Bucky.

 

Tony had been going over every inch of information he could regarding Brock and his alien. The more he saw the more he thought that perhaps Brock wasn't actually evil. And yet, Tony refused to believe that Brock was good. Perhaps it was just his stubbornness, or perhaps it was the fact that Peter had disappeared and Tony needed someone to blame for it. Tony wanted to have some explanation for why Peter was gone, someone to blame for it.

 

“You can't blame yourself.” Strange mused, setting a mug of hot chocolate in front of Tony. “You know that kid has a mind of his own. You can't blame yourself for that.”

 

“I let him go.” Tony muttered, looking at Strange. “He was here, in my house, and now he's gone. I don't know how that's not my fault. I was supposed to keep watch over him.”

 

“Tony.” Strange held Tony’s chin and pressed a brief kiss to his lips, his way of trying to calm Tony down. “This isn't your fault, okay? You don't have to keep hurting yourself over it.”

 

Tony sighed and held his head down, but didn't say anything after that. Strange started to lightly massage Tony’s back, relieving all the tense muscles while Tony drank his hot chocolate and worried. Strange knew it would take a while to convince Tony he wasn't at fault, so Strange took to researching on his own. Not to find Brock and the others, but to get Peter to inform Tony that he was okay.

 

Strange busied himself for a few minutes with the computer before he pulled up Peter’s number, and Strange then excused himself, saying he was going to go to the bathroom. In reality, he walked to the far edge of the floor and dialed Peter’s number. It rang and rang and rang, until Peter finally picked up on the fourth call.

 

“I’m kinda busy, Mr. Strange.” Peter spoke almost immediately.

 

“I know you are, and I’m not looking to track you or find where you and Brock and the others are holed up.”

 

“You’re not?”

 

“No, I just need you to talk to Tony and tell him you're okay. Tony’s worrying his head off, and I think your assurance might help convince him and make him switch sides. Right now all of us are thinking Brock over, but I think knowing you’re okay might push Tony to change his opinion.”

 

Silence filled the other end as Peter paused to think. “Alright. As long as he doesn't try to track my phone.”

 

“He’s tried. It's untraceable.” Strange said with a laugh, as he crossed the floor and walked into Tony’s room, holding the phone out.

 

Tony looked at him quizzically, but Strange just shook his head and put the phone in Tony’s hand. Tony took it, and murmured a soft “Hello?” into it.

 

“Hi Mr. Stark.”

 

There was a clatter as Tony dropped the phone in surprise. He scrambled to pick it up, his hands shaking as he held it to his ear. “Kid! Oh my god, are you okay?!?”

 

“I’m fine. Totally fine.” Peter replied kindly. “Mr. Strange says you’ve been worrying about me, but I’m fine. I promise.”

 

“Brock hasn't tried to attack you?”

 

“Not at all!” Peter replied, a bit of surprise mingled with mellowness in his voice. “He’s been really nice to me. He watched a movie with us yesterday, and he said he thinks I’m a good hero.” Tony sighed in relief, and Peter continued. “Please, Mr. Stark, try and consider what Mr. Brock’s done. He’s actually really nice, and he’s concerned about accidentally hurting any of us. He says he hates hurting good guys. He only goes after bad guys, just like you.”

 

“I don't know kid, he's still killed people.”

 

“So have a lot of heroes!” Peter cried. “But does that make any of them a bad person? No! He kills bad people: criminals, villains, murderers, thieves, all that. He doesn't target good guys, he said so himself. He doesn't let Venom eat good guys. So please, Mr. Stark, please reconsider. He’s a really good guy.”

 

“I’ll think about it.” Tony replied, and a bit of a relieved sigh fell from Peter’s mouth.

 

“Thank you Mr. Stark.” And with that, Peter hung up. Tony handed the phone back to Strange, who wrapped his arms around Tony.

 

“I told you he was okay.” Strange murmured, pressing a kiss to Tony’s neck. Tony muttered something too low for Strange to hear, but Strange didn't press it. Instead, Strange picked Tony up, laid him onto a blanket and wrapped him up, almost like a burrito, while Tony squirmed in protest. Strange then plopped Tony onto the couch in front of the TV and turned on Tony’s favorite movie. “Now watch the movie. I’m going to start up a nice hot bath for you.”

 

Tony opened his mouth to say something, but paused and started watching the movie instead. Strange smiled and made his way for the master bathroom, walked into the master bathroom and turned on the water. He placed Tony’s favorite bath bomb in the water (Tony owned a collection of bath bombs that he didn't often use) and began to stir the water slowly with his hand. The water began to smell of citrus and honey from the bath bomb , and the water turned a pleasant gold color. As the water began to solidify into the gold color, and the pleasant smell of honey and citrus filled the room, Strange returned to the bedroom to find Tony still wrapped up, watching the movie. Strange paused it and unwrapped the blanket, then began pulling of Tony’s shirt. Tony didn't protest, but asked to change in the bathroom rather than the bedroom. Strange nodded and Tony walked towards the bathroom, peeling his clothes off as he did so. Strange closed the door behind Tony and went back to his computer, and began dawdling on it.

 

Tony finished his bath rather quickly, and he got out, wrapped himself in a warm towel Strange had put there after right after he took it out of the dryer. Tony sank into the warmth and murmured in content, before opening the door to get the rest of his scattered clothes. Strange didn't bother lifting his head, but focused on his computer as Tony dressed.

 

“So, what's the plan for today?” Strange asked as Tony pulled on his shirt. Tony glanced over at him, his brown eyes briefly scanning the length of Strange’s body before darting up to Strange’s face. Strange pretended he hadn’t seen Tony checking him out. “Anything you want to do?”

 

“Discuss what we’re gonna do with Brock.” Tony replied, shrugging. Strange sighed and hung his head low, then lifted it back up and locked eyes with Tony.

 

“Other than that?” Strange asked, and Tony shook his head. Strange sighed and glanced back at the computer screen, and his attention was briefly caught by the intercoms on the camera. “Alright. Let's wait for everyone to wake up and call everyone into the main conference room, then.”

 

“Sounds like a plan.” Dr. Strange remarked, and gave Tony a little smile. Oddly, that small smile relaxed him, and Tony smiled back.

 

~~~

 

Tony’s voice soon floated into Steve and Bucky’s room through the intercom in their room. “Meet in the main conference room by 11 am.”

 

“Oh fun, a meeting.” Bucky joked, holding his mug of coffee up to his face. His crystalline blue eyes glanced up at Steve, scanning over his face. “How do you cope with constant meetings? I can barely get through one.”

 

“I don't know.” Steve shrugged, pressing a brief kiss to Bucky’s neck. He paused, then took a step towards the kitchen and turned to look at Bucky, leaning against the counter that was in their large master bedroom. “I’m just used to it, I guess.”

 

“I remember you used to hate meetings. You were really impatient as a kid.” Bucky relayed with a smile. Steve had been helping him get all his memories back, and it was working so well that Bucky could remember quite a lot from the year he befriended Steve to the year he joined the army. He had been keeping a journal, or really, a bunch of journals; Steve had bought him a total of twelve journals, enough to fill out six years of daily journals. Bucky, however, focused on just writing a journal entry for every week he could remember.

 

“Yeah, I was, but so were you.” Steve remarked, tilting his head.

 

“You were way more impatient than I was though.” Bucky laughed. Steve didn't even try to argue that, but rather just shrugged and nodded, earning another laugh from Bucky. “We were both pretty impatient as kids, I guess.”

 

“Yeah,” Steve said with a laugh, “I guess we really were.”

 

Bucky then stopped talking and finished off his coffee, then stood and walked to the dresser to pick out some clothes for that day. Despite Tony not particularly liking him, Tony was gracious enough to give Bucky enough money to buy an entire wardrobe for himself. Bucky was really thankful and wanted to get Tony something in return, but Tony insisted Bucky didn’t need to.

 

As Bucky began to choose clothes to wear for the day, Steve walked into the kitchen room of their floor and began fixing breakfast. Steve had picked up cooking after the whole fight against Thanos, and enjoyed cooking his own meals rather than relying on someone else to cook for him. Plus, Bucky seemed to like Steve’s home cooked meals, which was another motivator for Steve to cook. It was surprising how quickly he had picked the skill up, but he was quite a fast learner. However, he hadn't even gotten any of the ingredients he’d need for pancakes out when Bucky’s voice drifted into the room.

 

“You should get dressed.” Bucky remarked, looking over at Steve through doorway as he shed his clothes. Steve glanced at him, then held up the spatula he had in his hands.

 

“I’m cooking.” Steve spoke plainly, waving the spatula.

 

Bucky glanced somewhat deadpan at him, his eyebrows raising a little. “That's no excuse, now get that ass over here.” He waved his hand and beckoned Steve towards him.

 

Steve chuckled lightly and dropped the spatula back into the utensil holder, and then he made his way back into their shared bedroom, where Bucky was pulling a shirt on. Bucky grabbed one of his shirts (he and Steve were practically the same size now) and chucked it at Steve, who caught it with ease. Steve shed his shirt and pulled Bucky’s on, while Bucky whistled jokingly.

 

Once Steve finished getting dressed, Steve walked back to the kitchen and began fixing up some pancakes for him and Bucky. Bucky sat at the island, drinking a mug of coffee while watching his fiancé cook. Bucky hummed contentedly to himself. _Life was good._

 

~~~

 

Thor and Bruce were the last ones to wake up that morning. Thor woke up at 10 and Bruce followed fifteen minutes later, waking up with his head on Thor’s chest. Thor had stayed as still as possible to not wake Bruce up and let him sleep as long as possible, as Bruce had been sleeping only six hours a night for the past week. 

As soon as they woke up, Tony’s voice floated through the intercom on their room, telling them there was going to be a meeting at 11 am and to be ready by then. Bruce had groaned and stayed in bed an additional fifteen minutes, while Thor leapt out of bed and began getting dressed. He had long discarded most of his usual armor for traditional “midgardian” clothing, as he called it. He still did wear his armor quite often, though. By the time Thor had gotten dressed, though, Bruce had fallen asleep. Eventually, Bruce had to be dragged from bed at a quarter to 11 by Thor, who pulled Bruce’s clothes onto Bruce and brushed his hair (As Bruce was quite tired and Thor was already awake and eager-eyed). Thor brewed a quick pot of coffee for Bruce and handed it to him to try and wake him up a bit.

 

By 11 that morning, everyone except Bruce and Thor had conglomerated in the conference room. Bruce and Thor showed up five minutes past 11, and Tony started the meeting the minute they walked in.

 

~~~~~

 

“Who was that?” Shuri asked when Peter hung up his phone and returned into the living room. He had suddenly gotten a call during breakfast, and scrambled to answer it after the third time the caller called him.

 

“It was Mr. Strange.” Peter replied. “He wanted me to tell Mr. Stark that I’m okay.”

 

“You didn't tell him where we are, right?” Eddie asked, tilting his head worriedly. His blue eyes narrowed slightly in what Peter could tell was a sliver of worry. Peter glanced at Eddie and shook his head.

 

“No, Mr. Strange didn't even want to know. He said the Avengers are going over your case, and that me assuring Da-Mr. Stark that I’m okay might help change his mind about you.”

 

A silence filled the room, but was soon broken when Eddie let out a small “huh” and sat up a little straighter. He grabbed a crescent roll from the plate and began to butter it, while Shuri turned her head.

 

“What did you say?”

 

“I told him that Eddie is nice, and that just because he kills people doesn't mean he's bad. Plenty of heroes kill people, directly and indirectly.” Peter replied as he sat down next to Shuri and grabbed a crescent roll. That morning for breakfast, Anne and Dan had whipped up crescent rolls and pancakes. Everyone was sat at the table, eating happily as Anne passed out each person’s drink.

 

“Thanks for putting in a good word.” Eddie murmured, stuffing the crescent roll in his face.

 

Peter nodded happily. “Of course. You're really nice.”

 

Eddie twirled his fork with his finger and grabbed his glass of water, downing half of it in one gulp. “I don't know about really nice, but thanks again.”

 

“You are nice.” Anne rebutted, shoving a pancake and a couple tater tots (For Venom) onto Eddie’s plate. Venom formed over Eddie’s shoulder at the smell of tater tots.

 

 ** _“Thanks.”_** Venom growled before stuffing the tater tots in their face. Anne just smiled and started pouring syrup over her own pancakes.

 

“I’ve got to go in to work today, so you guys are gonna have to manage with me until 6 tonight.” Anne announced, stuffing a piece of her pancakes into her mouth. “Dan too. He works until 9 tonight.”

 

“Pros of being a doctor.” Dan said with a laugh as he piled a pancake onto his plate. “Long work hours. Today is a shorter day, thankfully, but the workload’s gonna pick up around Christmas. You’d be surprised how many people get themselves injured around Christmas.”

 

“Doesn't seem that surprising.” Shuri remarked as she buttered a crescent roll. “I’ve watched America's Funniest Home Videos. People are idiots, that's why they get hurt so much.”

 

“I would disagree with you but I honestly can't.” Wade laughed, shoveling pancakes into his mouth. “I’m exactly the idiot to get themselves hurt on Christmas.”

 

“As am I.” Peter laughed, raising his hand. Shuri laughed at him raising his hand. 

 

“I would say I am too, but my tech is so good that I don't stay hurt for long.” Shuri chirped, and Peter laughed.

 

“You and your fancy tech.”

 

“Like your tech isn't also fancy.”

 

“Ned and Mr. Stark make most of my tech, but it is quite fancy.”

 

Shuri and Peter soon both broke into fits of laughter, during which they had to be excused from the table to stop laughing. They did eventually return though, but by then most everyone was almost done.

 

Breakfast passed by pretty quickly after that, and once it was over and the dishes were washed, Anne, Dan and Scott took off to their respective jobs. Peter, Shuri and Loki climbed onto the couch and turned a vine compilation on, and began shouting out vines as they played on the TV. Eddie pulled out his computer (that Scott had gotten from Anne’s safehouse) and began typing up the article he had been working on. Wade took to watching the vine compilations with the mischief trio, and they officially indoctrinated him into their group, renaming it “the mischievous four”. Once Eddie took a break from writing his article, he joined them, and the six of them talked happily on the couch.

 

~~~~~

 

“So, what do you guys think?” Tony inquired, glancing around the room at the rest of the Avengers. They had spent an hour and a half going over everything they had learned about Brock, his victims and the entire Life Foundation case.

 

Natasha bit her lip and grabbed one of the papers on the table. “I think,” she began, placing the paper down, “we owe Brock an apology.”

 

“I agree.” Bucky chimed in, linking his fingers with Steve’s. “The question is, how do we apologize?”

 

“Gift basket?” Clint suggested, shrugging.

 

“I think a face to face would be best.” Strange murmured, glancing around at everyone in the room. Everyone nodded, and Tony glanced around at everyone.

 

Tony clapped his hands together. “Alright. Let's find them and give Brock an apology.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is definitely one of the longer chapters, at around 3100 words. Chapters 15 and 16 are also gonna be at least 3000 words, so you can look forward to that!


	15. Game shows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony calls Peter again and asks to meet up with Eddie. Meanwhile, Tony manages to track Anne to New York, and Venom watches a game show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant for this to be the last chapter, but by the time I reached the 3000 word marker I wasn't even close to writing the whole meetup, so that'll be next chapter. After chapter 16 will be the epilogue to this story/prologue to the sequel, so you can look out for that! And, as always, thanks for the feedback!

“What’s on the menu today?” Wade crowed as he walked into the kitchen. Anne glanced up at him, then looked back to the cookbook she had in her hand.

 

“Homestyle buttermilk waffles. And bacon, for Venom.” Anne replied, holding up the cookbook to point to the page she was on. Wade’s face lit up at the mention of bacon but immediately dropped when he heard that it was being fixed specifically for Venom.

 

“Aw man, I love bacon.” Wade whined, and Anne chuckled before turning back to her cookbook. She was not the only one to laugh; Scott had chuckled from his seat at the table.

 

“Don’t try and plead with her, man. I already tried. She shot me down no matter what.” Scott relayed with a laugh, glancing at Anne, who cocked her head and donned an innocent smile, batting her lashes for dramatic effect. Wade pouted, but turned his head at a small noise from Eddie.

 

Eddie shook his head and gazed at Wade from his seat and chuckled softly. “I would definitely not push for it. If Anne refuses, you back off. Trust me.”

 

Wade sighed but sat down in defeat, but soon perked up when Anne placed a plate of waffles in front of him. He grinned and began pouring syrup onto his waffles, enough to half-drown them. When Anne gazed at him quizzically, he looked at her and said “don’t judge me” before shoveling forkfuls of waffle into his mouth.

 

Peter and Shuri were the last ones to wake up, appearing in the kitchen just minutes apart. First was Shuri, dressed in a long Wakanda style sleeping gown, yawning as Anne handed her a mug of coffee. Peter walked in second, dressed in yesterday's t-shirt and a pair of comfortable hello-kitty sweatpants. Anne held out a mug of coffee for him, and he sleepily denied it, asking for a glass of water instead. “Caffeine doesn't affect me that much,” Peter explained when Anne put the mug down, “ADHD. It usually calms me down. Coffee does pick me up a little, but I prefer it only when I’m super sleepy.”

 

Anne nodded in understanding and poured a glass of water for him, and Peter thanked her when she handed it to him. She just smiled and shook her head before turning back to the waffles she was fixing. Shuri patted the seat next to her, and Peter sat down, yawning as he began to drink the glass of water. Anne placed a plate of waffles in front of both Shuri and Peter, and they both smiled happily and clapped their hands together.  
Shuri grabbed the syrup container and poured a reasonable amount onto her waffles before handing it to Peter, who, like Deadpool, liked his waffles half-drowning in syrup. Shuri made a face at Peter, who just stuck his tongue out at her when he was done with the syrup. He then shoveled a forkful of waffles into his mouth, his laughter muffled when Shuri made yet another face.

 

Peter and Shuri were also the last ones to finish eating. By the time the two of them finished off their second helping of waffles, everyone else was done and not at the table anymore. Loki was once again sitting in a bean bag, which was always a ridiculous sight given how refined he was; no one dared mock him though, except for Peter and Shuri because they knew he wouldn't take their remarks as insults. Deadpool was also sitting in a bean bag (one that Loki had gifted him per Deadpool becoming part of the mischief trio) and was rocking it back and forth, laughing while Loki just rolled his eyes.

 

Eddie had sat himself down in front of his computer, typing happily while Venom draped itself dramatically over his shoulder, whispering to Eddie. Eddie, however, seemed intent on writing whatever it was he was writing, and ignored Venom until Venom surged onto Eddie’s torso and he finally gave in. It seemed like Venom had been demanding a kiss, because when Eddie finally caved, Venom surged up and planted its mouth on Eddie’s, while everyone else in the room pretended not to see it. In the few days since Eddie’s release, the others in the house had seen many displays of affection between Eddie and Venom, but most of them learned to ignore it while Peter and Shuri would often sit in the background yelling “is this allowed”. Crazily enough, Eddie nor Venom ever seemed to mind that, and Venom had even taken a liking to both teens. Peter and Shuri had taken to sneaking Venom vine compilations when no one was looking, and so far, they had taught Venom what “yeet” and “my wig is snatched” meant. Venom had started saying both memes, which was always a hysterical sight; Venom saying “our wig is snatched” to a very-tired Eddie while Peter, Shuri and Wade wheezed with laughter in the background.

 

Anne and Dan and Scott all soon took off to their respective jobs, each of them waving goodbye before they left. Scott was the last of the three to leave, energetically waving goodbye before he resized one of his cars, started it and drove off. Peter pulled out his computer and pulled YouTube up, and he and Shuri began watching vine compilations while Peter simultaneously scrolled through his Twitter notifications.

 

After stories of a intern at Stark Industries started forming, Tony made Peter a twitter specifically to act as an intern and answer any questions people had about him. While Peter’s Stark Industries Internship wasn't exactly a full-blown secret, he still preferred not to tell everyone on Twitter who he really was. Instead he just hid behind the screen name of “@StarkIntern” and refused any questions about his name or identity (though he did admit that he was a highschool student).

 

Peter managed to answer three tweets he had gotten during the vine compilation, but ultimately set his phone down as Shuri put on videos from different YouTubers. Shuri ironically had her own YouTube account, where she posted videos like “Lab Tour December 2018” and “T’Challa fails compilation”. After news broke of the reality of Wakanda, her channel blew up, and she enjoyed a nice fan-following. It wasn't a ton of people, but she liked it just the same.

 

It was at noon when a knock came to the door. Wary, Loki stepped up to the peephole, only to see Valkyrie standing on the doormat, waving passively.

 

“Valkyrie? How did you get here?” Loki demanded as he opened the door. Valkyrie walked into the house and gazed around before turning to face Loki. She walked past him nonchalantly, and then whirled back around, choosing to look around before facing him again.

 

“You should really check your capes more.” She murmured, and before he could say anything, she held up a small device. “Tracker. Put it in your cape.”

 

“Of course you did.” He muttered, lowering his eyes. “You did come here discreetly, correct? Can't have the Avengers tracking you.”

 

Valkyrie shot Loki a do-you-think-I’m-stupid look. “Of course I did.” She turned on her heel, walked over to the couch and sat down, propping her feet up. She turned her head and glanced back at Loki. “You have liquor?”  
“You think me a fool?” Loki asked, conjuring up a bottle of wine. He tossed it to Valkyrie, who caught it with ease and began to chug the entire thing down. Peter and Shuri watched in awe, but made no move from their bean bags. Their attention was soon diverted, however, by Peter’s phone, as it lit up and buzzed with a call. He froze at the caller ID- Tony Stark.

 

Peter clicked to ignore the call, but Tony obviously wasn't going to give up. Peter’s phone buzzed again, and he tried to ignore it, but by the third call, he grabbed his phone, fled to a room upstairs and held the phone up to his ear.

 

“Kid! Finally, you pick up.” Tony exclaimed, sighing in relief. Peter had half a mind to hang up, but at the sigh of relief, he continued to hold the phone up to his ear.

 

“Mr. Stark? Why are you calling me?” Peter asked hesitantly. His voice held a tinge of worry, as he feared Tony could have found a way to track his phone.

 

“Two things. First, I wanted to make sure that you're okay.”

 

Peter nodded absentmindedly, clutching the phone. “I’m fine, Mr. Stark. Really, I am.” He fumbled a bit with his hands, looking up awkwardly as Shuri appeared in the doorway, tilting her head curiously. “What's the other reason?”

 

“The rest of the Avengers and I came up with a decision.” Tony remarked. “And we want to apologize to Brock. Is there any way we can meet up somewhere? I understand you're hiding somewhere so if Brock doesn't want to give up your hiding spot, that's fine. I just want to meet up somewhere and apologize.”

 

“I’ll have to ask him.” Peter replied. “Can I call you back?”

 

“Of course. I’ll talk to you again soon, hopefully.” Tony remarked, his voice soft and mellow. “Talk to you later, kid.”

 

“Talk to you soon, Mr. Stark.” Peter replied, and he hung up the phone and turned to face Shuri. “Mr. Stark says he and the others want to apologize to Mr. Brock and Venom.”

 

Shuri folded her arms and bit her lip in thought. She glanced at Peter, then stood a little straighter and faced Peter. “What else did he say?”

 

Peter shifted a bit, placing his weight on his left foot as he leaned slightly against the wall. “He said he wants to meet up somewhere. That we don't have to give up our hiding spot.”

 

Shuri placed a hand softly against the door, and took a second to think. “If we are going to, we need to plan it. When Anne and Dan and Scott get back tonight, we’ll bring it up. Deal?”

 

Peter nodded. “Deal.”

 

~~~~~

 

“What did he say?” Sam asked as soon as Tony hung up the phone. Tony clicked his phone off and glanced at Sam.

 

“He said he’d call me back.” Tony said with a shrug, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. He stood and clasped his hands together. “Meanwhile, I’ve been looking over every traffic cam that was nearby, just in case they had help, and I finally found something.” Tony typed in a command onto his computer and a traffic cam was pulled up, and Tony tapped the screen to focus on one particular car. As everyone narrowed their eyes and stood to look closer, he remarked, “Look familiar?”

 

“That's Anne Weying.” Steve remarked, standing up. Bucky pawed uselessly at Steve’s leg, whining, and Steve sat back down. “You think she came out to New York to rescue Brock?”

 

Tony nodded, then pulled up flight records. “I looked up any flights that came into New York over the past couple of days. If she did fly in, she used an alias. I also looked up the car. She did use her name for the car, but I can't find any flights or hotel rooms under her name.”

 

“She’s smart.” Natasha commented, glancing at the traffic cam. “If she knows to use an alias for a flight, then she's definitely smart.”

 

Sam glanced at the traffic cam as well. “Well, her job is listed as being a public defender. She obviously knows the law by heart.”

 

Tony nodded in agreement, tapping on the screen. He pulled up more flight records, searching for an “Anne Weying”. Still, nothing came up. “She's quite smart, I do have to agree.” Tony then recognized an absence, and suddenly looked around. “Hey, where's Clint?”

 

“He had to sort something out with his hearing aids.” Natasha replied, showing a text message she had gotten from him. Tony lifted his head a little and nodded in understanding. Natasha then lifted her head and glanced at Tony. “So, what do you wanna do?” She asked, gesturing to the flight records displayed on the screen. “Try and track them, or wait until Peter calls you back?”

 

Tony bit his lip in thought, running a quick hand through his messy, unruly bedhead hair. “Well, I’m going to wait for Peter to call me back, but there’s no harm in digging a little, right?”

 

Natasha shrugged but made no remark, and when Tony looked to the others, all of them shrugged. Tony nodded and sat back down and began typing once more.

 

~~~~~

 

**_“Eddie, what are they doing?”_ **

 

“What is who doing?”

 

**_“The people on the TV. Why aren’t they picking the right answer?”_ **

 

“Venom,” Eddie began, “if you start watching one more game show I swear to god I will start hiding every TV remote I find.”

 

 ** _“But Eddie,”_** Venom remarked, narrowing their silvery-white eyes at the TV, **_“The answer is so obvious, why don’t they say it?”_**

 

Eddie sighed and his eyes briefly landed on Venom. “Because some people aren’t filled with thousands of years of alien knowledge like you are.” Eddie replied, still typing away at his computer on his latest article.

 

 ** _“They shouldn't need thousands of years of alien knowledge to figure out what the answer to that question is.”_** Venom grumbled, still transfixed by the TV. Eddie shook his head and turned his eyes back to his computer screen.

 

“Is Venom watching _Jeopardy_?” Anne asked, bewildered, as she walked into the room after getting back from her job. She set her bag down, threw her tie off and left it crumpled and discarded on the floor.

 

Eddie looked up and sighed, nodding. “They've developed some sort of odd fascination with game shows.” Eddie glanced at Venom, who was still staring at the TV with full intent.

 

 ** _“We should go on a game show, Eddie.”_** Venom murmured, rubbing gently against Eddie’s cheek. **_“With our knowledge, we could win easy.”_**

 

“I’d rather avoid being on national television, V.” Said Eddie, turning his face back to the article he was writing. He was almost completely done with the rough draft.

 

“I think Eddie’s right, Venom.” Remarked Scott from the next room. Scott poked his head into the room, his light colored eyes gleaming as he walked into the room. “It isn't really that smart to go on national television. You might catch the attention of the wrong people.”

 

 ** _“Will not.”_** Venom grumbled, but no one paid much mind to the remark. Eddie held out his thumb and began rubbing small circles onto Venom’s head, quieting Venom as he sank into the comforting feeling. Sometimes Venom was really glad they shared a body, cuz that way, both of them knew exactly what would comfort the other. It was comforting, and Venom was so very thankful for it.

 

“Excuse me, Ms. Weying?” Came a voice, and Anne turned to see Peter waving awkwardly. “When is Mr. Lewis gonna be back?”

 

“Dan will be off work in one hour.” Anne replied with a smile. She tilted her head just the slightest bit. “Why? Is there something you need from him?”

 

Peter shifted a little, but stood tall and shook his head. “I have something to tell everyone, so I don't want to leave him out.” Anne nodded in understanding, and Peter suddenly held up his phone, which had started vibrating with his ringtone. He glanced at the caller ID, and his eyes widened a little. “My aunt’s calling me, so I have to take this.”

 

With that, Peter held his phone to his ear and walked out of the room, talking hurriedly to his aunt on the other line. Anne turned and sat down on the couch in the living room, letting her eyes drift onto the TV screen, where _Jeopardy_ was still playing. Man, she thought to herself, she hadn't watched this show in so long. Last time she had was with Eddie, a few weeks after they got engaged. Time had really flown by, she thought.

 

A few minutes passed when Peter walked back into the room, his face passive and somewhat blank. Anne tilted her head at him. “What did your aunt say?”

 

Peter looked up at the question, some sort of emotion twinkling in his brown eyes as he darted his eyes back to his phone. “She wanted to be sure that I’m okay. I told her I am, that I’m with Shuri and that I’ll call her if anything at all happens.”

 

Anne nodded in understanding and turned her head back to the TV, which had been turned up to drown out the occasional snore from Valkyrie, who was passed out on the couch. She had spent the day drinking and talking over stories of Asgard with Loki, who seemed pleasantly content with the company. The two of them had even pulled up a computer and started skyping with Thor (who was using Bruce’s computer, since he didn't have one) as Thor was now back in New Asgard with Bruce, rather than in Stark Tower. The three of them had talked jovially about Asgard for hours.  
Dan finally returned from work at eight that night, when everyone was waiting patiently at the table to eat. Anne, while a good cook, was not nearly as good as Dan, and so she had waited for him to arrive and help her with the food. She had decided to fix up something a bit different that night: stuffed shells with a side of chicken and broccoli. She had already fixed the broccoli and the chicken was almost prepared, but she allowed Dan to set his bag aside and start the stuffed shells. Nearly half an hour passed before all the food was finally ready.

 

“Alright everyone, dig in.” Anne announced, placing plates of food on the table where everyone sat patiently. Peter and Shuri were the first to get their plates; they immediately dug their forks into the bowl of stuffed shells, humming happily as they shoveled forkfuls into their mouths. Loki and Valkyrie were second to get plates of food, and they both ate a bit slower than Peter and Shuri; Loki was refined and ate as such, taking small forkfuls of food, while Valkyrie ate slow to savor the taste. It had been a while since she had eaten so well.

 

Wade got his plate third, Eddie fourth, and Scott fifth. Not even a minute passed before Wade had devoured half of his plate, and Venom had already swallowed the entire small plate of chicken, while Eddie ate the stuffed shells happily; Venom didn't care much for stuffed shells. Scott ate slower than Eddie and Wade but faster than Peter and Shuri, and he was done in minutes. Peter and Shuri finished eating last, as they had struck up a conversation while eating which would stop them from eating. However, they did finish eating in time to get a second helping of stuffed shells before they were gone, and the two of them continued to talk and eat and talk and eat. Peter remembered halfway through eating that Tony had called him earlier, but he decided to not bring it up while everyone was eating.

 

It was when the plates were cleared and everyone was done eating that Peter finally decided to bring up the phone call from Tony. After making sure everyone was sat in the same room, Peter opened his mouth and began to talk.

 

~~~~~

 

Tony’s phone finally rang at nine that night, with Peter’s name on the caller ID. Tony had been busying himself with designing new tweaks to Peter’s suit when the call tore through the silence of his lab. When Tony saw the name on the caller ID, he discarded everything else and grabbed the phone.

 

“Kid! Hey, how are you?” Tony asked hurriedly, clutching the phone tightly in his hand, as though he was afraid he’d drop it.

 

“I’m good, Mr. Stark.” Came Peter’s voice, relaxed and soft and reassuring. “I talked to Mr. Brock.”

 

Tony paused for a brief second. His eyebrows raised at the statement, before the memory of that morning’s phone call flooded his mind. “Oh? And what did he say?” 

 

Peter paused before speaking again. When he did, his voice had a hint of tenseness in it. “He said that as long as you guys let him have us protecting him, and that we meet somewhere besides the safe house, that he's fine with meeting up.”

 

Tony breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright. Can we meet up tomorrow at, say, 3 in the afternoon? You guys can choose the location.”

 

“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow Mr. Stark.” Peter spoke, and when Tony bid him goodbye, Tony heard the line click as Peter hung up. Tony clicked the buzzer that led to the intercom, and he called for a quick meeting before everyone went to sleep. When Tony got to the meeting floor, everyone was already gathered there, all dressed in PJ’s (Natasha had chosen to wear a pair of Tony’s pajamas that she had stolen) and was sat in different chairs. When Tony walked into the room, everyone glanced up at him, and he clapped his hands together and began to speak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you want, I started a tumblr specifically for my fandom art, and I have put up a marvel drawing on there. It's allaboutfnafdraws if you want to maybe check it out ^^


	16. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers finally apologize. The rescue group finally parts ways as the mischievous four return to New York

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter! After this is the epilogue! :(  
> Man this chapter took me a while to write... 4000 words! The epilogue is gonna be the shortest chapter, with only 1500 words. I can't believe I'm already done writing this story! I love y'all so much, your support is the main reason I've even been writing so feverently these past weeks. Thank y'all so much, from the bottom of my heart

“Today’s the day!” Tony cried the minute he walked into the room. After the consolation that he’d finally be seeing Peter again, he had been wide-eyed and cheerful, a spritely step in his walk. It was a refreshing and yet strange sight for everyone in Stark Tower.  
Spritely Tony was not a common sight; many of them had seen it before, but it was so uncommon that none of them were fully used to it. They were more used to anxious Tony, sleep-deprived Tony, confident Tony or just determined Tony, rarely spritely, energetic Tony.

 

“You’re a happy little thing this morning.” Dr. Strange remarked as Tony fell, widespread, into his arms. Tony just nodded and smiled and Strange pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

 

“I get to see the kid again today.” Tony replied matter-of-factly, as if everyone in Stark Tower didn't already know that.

 

“I’m just glad you're so happy.” Natasha spoke with a smile as she helped Clint adjust his hearing aids. He’d squirm if she didn't place them right, so she was placing them with the utmost precision.

 

Both Bucky and Steve nodded in agreement, as they sat tangled in each other's arms on one of the couches. Steve was laying against the arm of the couch with Bucky practically glued to him, sitting on Steve’s lap with his arms wrapped around Steve and his head under Steve’s chin. Sam, who was sitting next to them, drank a mug of coffee with an irritated face, as though he wished he wasn't the one who constantly had to deal with the two lovebirds. At least after the wedding, he thought, he’d get a different floor. Then his time as third wheel would decrease somewhat. At least, in the mornings it would.

 

Tony nodded with vigor and plopped into his swivel chair, and Strange swiveled it to Tony’s computer setup. After that, Strange went to fix some coffee for Tony, walking out of the room with a swish of his cloak.

 

“Quite the dramatic boyfriend you got there, Tony.” Natasha remarked with a laugh. “Matches you perfectly.”

 

Tony rolled his eyes at her as he began typing madly on his holographic computer. Everyone in Stark Tower liked to joke about how dramatic both Tony and Strange were, and how perfectly they fit each other in that aspect. It was talked about enough that Tony's reaction had been reduced to a simple eye roll and nothing more. As Tony gazed at the screen, a message popped up in the corner, and he smiled as he read it.

 

“More good news!” Tony exclaimed, catching the attention of everyone in the room, “Wanda says her and Vision’s little vacation thing is ending in a week. She’ll be back by Christmas.”

 

“Great! I was wondering whether to get her a present.” Sam remarked from his spot on the couch.

 

“Shame she wasn't here for Hanukkah, though.” Bucky remarked, nestling his face into Steve’s chest. “There were so many cool things I could've shown her.”

 

“Yeah, Bucky always has plenty of cool things to show people on Hanukkah.” Steve spoke, and Bucky smiled proudly.

 

Before Tony could reply, Strange walked into the room carrying a mug of coffee in his hands. He handed it gingerly to Tony, who graciously accepted it and held it up to his mouth and began to drink deeply. As he did, Strange sat down on a chair next to Tony and pulled up to Tony’s desk, gazing over his shoulder at the computer screen. Strange placed a soft hand on Tony’s arm and smiled at him. “I’m glad you're so cheerful, Tony.” He pressed a chaste kiss to Tony’s forehead before he stood up and walked off to make some breakfast. The others wouldn't say it, but all of them were happy to see Tony so happy.

 

~~~~~

 

Eddie woke up that morning to an irate Venom, poking at him. When Eddie swatted him away and sat up to yawn, Venom surged into his chest so fast it momentarily took Eddie’s breath away.

 

“V, what the hell?!” Eddie yelped as he began to massage his chest. Eddie got nothing but silence in return, so he pleaded with Venom again until the symbiote finally replied.

 

 ** _“Those Avengers, they're dangerous.”_** The symbiote grumbled, **_“And yet, knowing this, you accept their request to meet.”_**

 

“Look, V,” Eddie began with a tired sigh, “It’s not just gonna be us this time. We’ll have Wade with us, Anne with us, Dan and Scott and that Loki dude with us, not to mention the two kids who I doubt the Avengers would ever touch! We’re safe this time. We have backup.” As Venom grumbled again, Eddie rubbed his shoulder until Venom poked out, and Eddie cupped their face in his hand. “I would never put you, put _us_ in danger willingly. I am doing this only because we have so much backup. If you throw us into the mix, the Avengers are outnumbered 7 to 9. We’ll be alright, okay?”

 

Venom scoffed but stayed silent for a few moments. Finally, they let out a plain **_“If you're wrong about this, we will never let you do a thing like this again.”_**

 

“I know you won't.” Eddie replied simply, standing up to change. “I’m counting on it.”

 

Eddie walked over to the tiny closet that stood in the room, and pulled out a gray hoodie, dark gray shirt and a pair of jeans to wear. As he shucked his clothes from the prior day off, Venom surged back into his shoulder and laid comfortably on Eddie’s shoulder blades. Eddie pulled on the dark gray shirt, the gray hoodie and the jeans, and by the time he was dressed, a yell came from downstairs. “Breakfast is ready!”

 

“Coming!” Eddie cried, grabbing a brush and running it twice through his messy, rats-nest bed head before going downstairs. Everyone but Wade was awake, sitting at the table, talking jovially while eating butter-braids, cereal and toast. Scott waved jubilantly at Eddie when he finally walked into the room.

 

“Good morning, Eddie.” Anne remarked as she waved from her seat at the table. She had part of a butter-braid in her hand, and with the other she was gently spreading a little bit of butter onto it. She had a slightly red mark on her arm, one that Eddie noticed almost right away.

 

“What's that on your arm?” Eddie inquired, glancing at Anne’s arm before his eyes flitted up to her face. Anne didn't hear him the first time, so he repeated the question. “What's that on your arm?”

 

Anne tilted her head curiously, then glanced down a little at her arm. “Oh, that,” She began, placing the butter knife down on the table with a soft clatter, “I just singed my arm a little this morning. Nothing major.”

 

Eddie tersely nodded and briefly bit his lip, before Dan walked by and placed a plate of part of a butter-braid and some toast in front of him. Eddie thanked Dan before smearing a small amount of butter onto both the butter-braid and the toast. As he bit into the butter-braid, he glanced up at Anne. “Where’d you get these butter-braids?”

 

“One of my coworkers has a daughter in high school. That daughter had a fundraiser a while back with butter-braids, so I bought a couple.” Anne replied with a smile. She bit into her butter-braid and began to eat with vigor.

 

“They're really delicious,” Shuri exclaimed from her seat with a smile on her face, “so thank you so much for fixing them.”

 

Anne shook her head kindly and smiled. “It was no problem at all.” She grabbed her glass of water and downed it in seconds, and turned her head at the sound of footsteps.

 

Everyone turned as Wade finally ambled sleepily into the room. He yawned sleepily and rubbed his head sleepily, his mask having been discarded in a pile in his room. As he sat down, Dan set a plate of food in front of him, which seemed to perk Wade up pretty quickly.

 

“Good morning Mr. Deadpool.” Peter chirped as Wade took a glass of sprite in his hand.

 

After downing the glass of sprite, Wade glanced at Peter and remarked “Just call me Wade” before he grabbed his fork and began cutting up his portion of the butter-braid. Peter nodded in understanding and took a sip of his own glass of sprite.

 

By the time Wade finished with his breakfast, everyone else was done and had dispersed to different parts of the room. Eddie had gone to the bathroom to take a shower, grabbing a towel from the laundry room as he did so. Anne took the second bathroom, as she too needed a shower. The third bathroom had then been occupied by Scott, who had been the first to finish his meal.

 

Loki and Valkyrie had sat down on the couch, exchanging more stories of Asgard as Valkyrie downed bottle after bottle of alcohol. Peter had taken to the drum set, and Shuri cheered him on while simultaneously filming him. Dan, who was the last person remaining in the kitchen besides Wade, took to cleaning up the kitchen best he could. Today could very well be the last day he was resigned to living in Scott’s house, so he wanted to be sure he was polite and left no mess behind. That was just Dan.

 

When Wade finished his meal, he got up and joined Peter and Shuri, cheering Peter on while Shuri continued to film. Wade, being part of the mischievous four, had grown close to both Peter and Shuri, as well as Loki. The four of them were already planning their first prank for when they returned to New York. Peter had insisted they stared teaching all of the Avengers but Tony memes, so that everyone could reference memes 24/7 while Tony would watch without any clue as to what was happening. Not only that, but Shuri had concocted an idea to change the names of Tony’s Iron Man protocols as a way to help Peter get back at Tony for the baby monitor protocols.

 

By the time Anne, Scott and Eddie finished their respective showers, Dan took one of the three bathrooms and Loki took another, insisting he be clean and well dressed for when he saw the Avengers again. Peter eventually stopped the drums and took to helping Shuri teach both Wade and Valkyrie as many memes as they could. They had pulled up vine compilations and began playing them for both Valkyrie and Wade, who oddly enough, both watched with intense fascination.

 

It was at 1 pm that day that Anne and Dan decided to get everyone lunch. Being as Dan did not want to make any sort of mess in the kitchen, he and Anne (reluctantly) went to McDonalds and ordered plenty of food for everyone. When they got back, Peter, Shuri, Wade and Venom cheered excitedly. Peter, Shuri and Wade jumped up and down with vigor, while Eddie remained reticent, silent as he accepted his food with only minimal excitement. Scott took the McDonalds with jubilance, clasping his hands on the bag eagerly as he opened it and pulled out his food order. Scott sat at the small table where he usually would type on his computer, and put his food down after moving his computer. The table was near the couch, where Peter, Shuri and Wade sat. He poked into their conversation, and they welcomed him with open arms, laughing about different vines and cultural references as they ate. Loki had meant to join them, but after being cooped up for nearly a week, Loki desperately craved fresh air. Thus, he had disguised himself as a young, cheery eyed woman, and went off to take a long walk. He had bid the others goodbye just minutes before Anne and Dan had returned with food. Peter had texted Loki to alert him that food had arrived, but Loki had sent a text back saying, very simply, that he would be out for a while longer, and to eat without him. And so, they had began to eat without him.

 

Loki returned half an hour after Anne and Dan had returned. He returned still in the form of a woman, a cheery eyed woman with long, dark hair and pale skin. Loki sat on the couch, pulling aside the long skirt he had formed, and began to eat. It was only after Loki began to eat that he retained his usual masculine form, and he began to speak happily with the four of them.  
When the clock struck 3, Anne whistled to alert everyone in the house. Immediately the mood shifted, from a happy-go-lucky mood to a tense, terse mood. Even Peter became tense and quiet. As happy as he was to have the opportunity to see Tony again, he was afraid something would happen to his new friend Eddie.

 

“Everyone ready?” Spoke Anne a few minutes later, when everyone stood near the door. Everyone nodded somewhat numbly, all of them except for Loki and Wade, who both seemed unbothered by the idea of facing the Avengers. Anne pursed her lips, and then turned her head and opened the door to reveal two cars. Anne was going to drive one of them, and Scott was to drive the other. “Alright, pick your car and get in.”

 

Peter and Shuri piled into Scott’s car alongside Loki, who sat plainly in the front seat and happily controlled the radio. Dan, Wade and Eddie sat in Anne’s car, Dan in the passenger's seat while Wade watched over Eddie and cracked jokes to him. Even with the tense mood of the car, Wade still managed to break it, and Eddie was surprisingly thankful.

 

The car ride took only nine minutes, and by then, they had reached the park where they had arranged to meet the Avengers. As soon as they arrived, Scott tugged his suit on and shrunk, and Anne picked Scott up and put him in her pocket. Their plan was, if something happened, Scott would jump onto the ground and help fight. Plus, if the Avengers ended up actually apologizing, then Scott wouldn’t reveal himself and the Avengers wouldn’t know that Eddie has Scott as an ally.

 

Eddie and the others were the first ones there, having beaten the Avengers by a few minutes. Needless to say, they were a little tense when the Avengers finally arrived.

 

The Avengers arrived in two seperate cars. Tony was driving the first, and he, Dr. Strange, Clint and Natasha stepped out of the expensive car. Sam was driving the second, and he, Steve and Bucky stepped out of it. As all seven of them began to walk towards the group, everyone formed somewhat of a circle around Eddie, as a form of defense in case something went wrong. Anne and Peter stood in front, with a large enough space in between them to be able to see Eddie clearly. Venom had perched on his shoulder, their silky white eyes narrowed in suspicion at the Avengers, their teeth bared slightly.

 

Tony was the first to reach the group, and he stopped about three feet in front of Anne and Peter, and waited for the others to reach him. When they did, Clint stretched an arm out, his fingers clasped tightly around a basket, the top of it tied neatly with a lavender ribbon. Eddie looked quizzically at the basket, but took it into his hands and cautiously undid the ribbon. Inside the basket was an array of chocolates, from bars of hershey to godiva truffles. Venom immediately perked up, then shifted and widened their eyes at the Avengers.

 

Tony lifted his head when Eddie took the gift basket, and he briefly pursed his lips before opening them to speak. “We’re sorry for judging you so quickly.” Eddie ran his hands over the basket, and looked up at the statement. He raised an eyebrow.

 

“We shouldn’t have judged you so quickly, we realize that now.” Natasha spoke, taking a step forward. She raised her eyes to be level with Eddie’s face, then glanced at Venom. “We hope you’ll forgive us for our actions.”

 

The circle encasing Eddie broke apart a little bit, as everyone protecting him relaxed a little. Anne took half a step forward, shuffling her arms before glaring at all 7 of the Avengers in front of her. “Are you really sorry, or is this an elaborate scheme to capture him again?”

 

“We’re truly sorry.” Clint replied, rubbing his hands together.

 

Anne paused, then finally moved to the side a little and let Eddie step forward. Eddie glanced at each of the Avengers faces in turn. He shifted his eyes briefly onto the ground, then onto Venom, then to the gift basket in his hand. He coughed and looked back up at Tony. “I don’t really forgive you, but apology accepted, I guess.”

 

A few of the Avengers, mainly Tony, Steve and Dr. Strange sighed in what could only be described as relief. The defense circle around Eddie broke apart at the reply, and Peter ran into Tony’s outstretched arms. Shuri walked over to Peter and tugged at his jacket, nodding towards Loki. Loki took a few steps towards the two of them, but didn’t walk all the way, instead stopping at three feet from Shuri.

 

As Peter broke the hug, he turned to Eddie and smiled brightly. Eddie smiled a little before lifting his head back to look at Tony. “Just don’t bother us again, deal?”

 

“Deal.” Tony replied, ruffling Peter’s hair. Peter laughed and ducked his head, taking a step backwards towards Shuri.

 

“So, are you guys gonna go back to New York?” Shuri asked, glancing at Tony.

 

Tony bit his lip in thought, then turned his head and briefly locked eyes with Shuri. “Probably.” He then turned to Eddie, who gave him a brief, quizzical glance. “If you ever need help with anything, you can call one of us. Consider it an extra apology for our treatment towards you.”

 

Eddie nodded. “Noted.”

 

~~~~~

 

After the entire encounter with the Avengers, Eddie and the others took off back to Scott’s house. Eddie burst into the house as soon as they returned, and he practically fell onto the couch. As the others trailed into the house, Valkyrie walked down the stairs and raised an eyebrow at Eddie.

 

“Did it go well?” She inquired, making her way to the couch, where she sat down a foot next to Eddie. Eddie nodded and held out the gift basket full of chocolate, which Valkyrie eyed and nodded in understanding. “It went well, then, I assume.”

 

“They apologized, gave them a gift basket and offered to help any time Eddie and Venom need it.” Anne explained, sitting down in a table at the dining room. She glanced briefly at her phone, then back at Valkyrie. “I’m not sure I 100% believe them, but they made no move towards Eddie at all, so I do somewhat believe them. For now, at least.”

 

“And as far as I could tell,” Loki began, sitting down in between Eddie and Valkyrie, “They weren’t lying. So, unless they come here during the night or something like that, they are sincere, and Eddie and Venom are safe.”

 

Valkyrie nodded, and tugged her feet under her. “That’s good, then.”

 

“Yeah.” Eddie murmured, unwrapping a chocolate bar. “I think it’s finally over.”

 

~~~~~

The Avengers ended up deciding to leave and go back to New York the next day. After some coaxing, Peter, Shuri and Loki agreed to go back to New York with the Avengers. After that was decided, Anne decided to try and fix a nice, big farewell dinner, partly to say goodbye and partly to celebrate the entire mess being done with. At eight that night, Eddie and the others were all sat in seats at the dinner table, awaiting their food. Anne and Dan had fixed up burgers, crescent rolls, chicken and tater tots, and they began to walk around the table, handing plates to each person who was sitting down. Eddie got his food first, and Venom had devoured all of the tater tots before the last person had even gotten their plate. Eddie laughed at the sight of Venom devouring the tater tots. He didn’t even know why he had laughed; perhaps it was simply because he was so relieved that he and Venom didn’t have to run from the Avengers anymore. They were finally safe, they were finally free. And they were both so happy, so thankful that they were finally free from all this mess.

 

The dinner passed by quicker than any of them wanted, and once it was over, Anne and Dan took to washing the dishes while everyone else settled in front of the TV to watch _Home Alone_. They all watched the movie eagerly, laughing and talking happily. They were so happy that none of them wanted to go to bed. However, as time went by, they all reluctantly got ready for bed. It was at eleven that night that all of them said goodnight to each other and went off to bed.

 

~~~~~

 

The Avengers jet was to take off at noon that day, so Peter, Shuri and Loki woke up at ten to make sure they were ready. At a quarter past 11, Eddie, Anne, Dan, Loki, Peter, Shuri, Wade, and Valkyrie piled into two cars and took off for Tony’s estate. Scott had waved them all off from his house, as Eddie had told him he’d rather the Avengers not find out Scott was his ally, just for the future in case Eddie needed somewhere to hide. Scott had agreed and hugged Peter, Shuri and Loki goodbye at his house.

 

The car ride to Tony’s estate lasted nearly 20 minutes, but they got there before they knew it. Tony and the other Avengers were waiting outside the estate for them to arrive. As soon as they were parked, Peter ran towards Tony with his arms outstretched and barreled into him. Tony laughed and wrapped his arms around the teen.

 

“You take good care now.” Eddie spoke to Shuri and Loki as they got out of the car. “And thanks for saving Venom and I.”

 

Shuri beamed at him. “Of course. You are, after all, one of my favorite broken white boys.” She gave a quick hug to Eddie, then ran off towards Peter, laughing and yelling.

 

Loki turned and glanced at Eddie, and held out his hand. Eddie shook it, and Loki nodded. “I shall see you and Venom again sometime, hopefully soon.” He spoke. “I look forward to it.”

 

“As do we.” Eddie replied with a smile. As Loki turned, he shot Eddie one final glance before walking off to join Peter and Shuri. Valkyrie gave Eddie a wave goodbye before she too joined Peter and Shuri.

 

Wade was the last to go, as he lived in New York. Before Eddie could say anything to him, Wade pulled him into a hug. When the hug broke, Wade placed both hands on Eddie’s shoulders and grinned. “You two stay safe, okay?”

 

“We will.”

 

“Good, cuz I’d rather not have to drag ass back out here again to save your asses.” Wade laughed. Eddie laughed in reply, and Wade bid Eddie and Venom goodbye, then ran off towards the Avengers.

 

Eddie then turned and faced Anne and Dan, and clapped his hands together. “Alright, it’s safe to say that we can finally go back to our homes.”

 

Anne nodded and smiled, before pulling Eddie into a quick hug. She and Dan then walked to their car, and she waved goodbye to Eddie as she climbed in. When her car drove off, Eddie walked back to the motorcycle that he had driven there. As he hopped on, Venom formed over Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie glanced at them and smiled.

 

“You ready to go home bud?”

 

**_“Home?”_ **

 

“Yes, home.”

 

Venom smiled, and a wave of happiness flooded through their bond. **_“Yes. Home.”_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lil notes, as it's not said in the chapter:  
> 1\. The Avengers flew into San Francisco around noon California time and immediately went to Tony's estate  
> 2\. Bucky is jewish in this story, which is something I added while writing this chapter. Since I came up with the idea so late, it's never said in earlier chapters, but I hope to expand on it in the sequel. Also, Peter's jewish in this story too :)  
> 3\. I've said it before, but Bucky and Steve are engaged. Their wedding is set for 5 months after this story ends (May 2019)  
> 4\. After the fight with Thanos, Wanda and Vision ultimately settled on taking a vacation to just relax and unwind from all the stress they endured, which is why they're not in this story. I do hope to write them into the sequel, though


	17. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five months have passed since Eddie collided with the Avengers. He and Venom are once again living happily together in San Francisco, and are even looking for a new apartment together. But there's something Venom's not telling Eddie, and Eddie can't help but wonder what it is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the epilogue! Gosh, I can't believe I'm done with this story. I never wanted it to end :(  
> I should be posting the first chapter of the sequel within a week, probably in five days, so keep an eye out for that. It's gonna have all the characters and ships from this story, along with Carnage, Wanda, Vision, and hopefully Ned and MJ! It will hopefully also include the mischievous four and the chaotic group teaming up again, so that's something to look forward to! Anyways, I'll see you guys again soon in the sequel. Bye bye!!!!!
> 
> ~ Liz

San Francisco was particularly warm this April, Eddie thought. Perhaps it was just him, though. His usual fashion of dress was, after all, hoodies and jeans, so it made sense that he would be warmer than everyone else. 

 

He woke up one morning to a particularly warm day, with the high being 70, which was unusual for April. Eddie decided to take advantage of the warm day to take a break from the new article he was writing, and to go out and just have a day of relaxation. That dream of relaxation was short lived however, when Venom finally stirred and began shifting about inside Eddie.

 

 ** _“Hungry.”_** Venom growled.

 

“How are you already hungry? We ate yesterday!” Eddie cried in response, running a wet comb through his hair in an attempt to make it look nice. 

 

 ** _“Hungry.”_** Venom growled again, a tenacious tone to their voice. Eddie sighed exasperatedly and put his comb down with a clatter. 

 

“If you let me have a nice, relaxing day today, then we can find a bad guy tonight, deal?” 

 

Venom grumbled unhappily on Eddie’s left shoulder blade, but gave a clear murmur of assent. Eddie nodded and picked the comb back up and continued to run it through his messy hair, until it fell neat and straight. Once he was satisfied with hair, Eddie pulled on a gray shirt and hoodie and a pair of jeans, then began fixing some breakfast. Breakfast that morning was toast and tater tots; toast for Eddie and tater tots for Venom. Venom wolfed the tater tots down before Eddie had even taken two bites of his toast, and Venom then waited impatiently as Eddie finished off his food. 

 

It took Eddie five minutes to finish off his breakfast, and by that time Venom had become extremely impatient. Eddie ran a hand over his hair, patting it down a little before he finally grabbed his phone and motorcycle keys and walked out the door of his apartment. He walked down to where he kept his motorcycle parked, and he hopped on and took off towards a park. As he did, he drove leisurely past some of the apartments and Venom kept an eye out for any apartments that were for sale.

 

After the whole Avengers fiasco, Eddie had decided it would be best to move, so that way he could get somewhat of a fresh start, living-wise. Not to mention, all of his neighbors were terrified of him after the whole Life Foundation incident, when he and Venom duked it out with a few of Carlton Drake’s men in his apartment. Specifically the man across from him, who refused to say a word to him and kept his door locked whenever Eddie was home. 

 

As Eddie drove past more and more apartments, Venom suddenly went quiet. It was odd, but Eddie figured he’d question Venom about it when he wasn’t driving. 

 

A few minutes passed when he arrived at a nearby park, and he set his helmet down and stuffed his keys in his pocket. He walked into the park and wound up sitting on a somewhat dilapidated park bench, far from the excitement of the playground and the main part of the park. 

 

“Alright V,” Eddie began, clasping his hands together, “What’s with the silence? You’re usually talkative on our motorcycle rides.”

 

 ** _“Just thinking.”_** Venom murmured back, a bit hesitant. Their voice was softer than normal, Eddie noticed, but also a little more stressed out. 

 

“Thinking? Thinking of anything important?” Eddie asked, sitting up a little straighter as he surveyed the park with his gray-blue eyes. Venom was silent for a few moments, moving to rest comfortably on Eddie’s hip bone. 

 

 ** _“Don’t know yet.”_** Venom finally replied. **_“Just… thinking.”_**

 

“Well, when you finish thinking, you let me know, okay?” 

 

Venom murmured in assent, and Eddie nodded, eyeing a woman who had given him a strange look. Eddie took a few quiet minutes to just sit peacefully on the bench, before he finally decided to get up and take a leisurely drive around the city. As he wrapped his helmet on and hopped onto his bike, Venom remained quiet. It was definitely odd to not have the symbiote’s voice buzzing about in Eddie’s head, but he tried to not pay much mind to it. 

Instead, he drove happily through the ciry, along long, winding roads and past buildings old and new. The wind howled in his face, the light April breeze blowing contentedly against him. It was nice to have this opportunity to relax, to be at peace with no worries or problems. Eddie should’ve known it wouldn't last long.

 

~~~~~

 

Eddie got back to his apartment after being outside in the cool April air for two hours. Venom had been quiet through most of it, only making an occasional sly remark every twenty minutes or so. Eddie had tried to not raise any alarm or show that he was worried, but he was. And just because Venom could read his thoughts didn't mean Eddie could read Venom’s thoughts. 

 

When Eddie got back home, he walked into his apartment and set his stuff down, then sat down in front of his computer and pulled up some apartment listings. It was at that moment when a wave of nausea suddenly hit him, and Eddie sprinted to the bathroom. Right as he reached the bathroom, he lurched forward and emptied his stomach into the toilet, then sat against the wall and groaned. Venom was still quiet.

 

Eddie stood up, wiped his mouth and grabbed a cherry lifesaver, something he always kept on hand, and began to suck on it to get the acrid taste out of his mouth. He then ambled gingerly back to his seat, and began to type once more. He sucked absentmindedly on the lifesaver as he typed, clicking at different apartment listings. Since his career shift, he had been earning money again, and with some help from Anne, he had enough money to buy a reasonable apartment anywhere in San Francisco. So, Eddie was settling for a nice apartment, possibly with two bedrooms, that was bigger than his current apartment and was in a nicer part of town, but still close to where he usually hung out. He didn't want to stray too far from Mrs. Chen’s store. 

 

 ** _“Hungry.”_** Came Venom’s voice finally, ripping through the silence of the apartment.

 

“Once I get this taste out of my mouth, we’ll go eat, okay bud?” 

 

Venom didn't reply.

 

~~~~~

 

Eddie managed to coerce himself into eating another meal that day, after unpleasantly emptying his stomach contents. He went for a light meal; some crackers, a banana and some yellow rice. It wasn't much, but it was enough to somewhat ease his ailing, empty stomach. Venom stayed quiet through the meal, not even caring to point out that there wasn't any meat on Eddie’s plate. 

 

Every minute that passed by in silence raised more red flags to Eddie, but he still kept his worries hidden away in a part of his head that he knew Venom wouldn't touch. Despite the fact that they shared a mind, Venom had agreed to leave a part of Eddie’s brain untouched, so that Eddie could get some level of privacy.

 

As afternoon creeped into evening, and the sun got lower and the sky became redder, Eddie finally decided it was a good enough time to go hunt. After the whole situation with the Avengers, they had agreed to leave him alone as long as he targeted criminals only. And he did.

 

Eddie walked for minutes in silence, until he finally reached a dark, decrepit part of town where crime ran rampant. He settled into a quiet alleyway and waited, waited until he heard a scream, followed by a young girl sprinting into the alley with a man running after her. 

 

Eddie leaped forward and stood in between the girl and the man, as the girl glanced briefly at Eddie before she suddenly tripped and collided with the concrete. She scrambled onto her feet, pointing a shaky finger at the man. “He tried to rape me!” She yelled, sensing that Eddie wasn't here to harm her.

 

“That's ridiculous!” The man yelled back. “You were coming onto me!”

 

The girl yelped and stood, running away with all the speed her tired legs could give her. The man hadn't even taken a step forward when Venom surged over Eddie, grabbed the man and ripped his head off. 

 

After Venom got his fill, he tossed the empty shell of a man to the concrete, and surged back into Eddie just as quickly as they had surged over him. Eddie trembled slightly before he ran hurriedly back home, avoiding the stares and looks that he would occasionally get from passerby.

 

 ** _“Eddie. Need to tell you something.”_** Venom grumbled when Eddie finally got back into his apartment. 

 

“Hm?”

 

**_“Just, don’t get mad at us.”_ **

 

Eddie glanced at Venom (who had formed over his shoulder) and raised an eyebrow. “Did you kill someone while I was asleep again?”

 

 ** _“No.”_** Venom replied, somewhat tersely. There was a pause before Venom spoke again. **_“But we are about to spawn.”_**

 

Eddie shifted and raised his eyebrow even higher, glancing at Venom with a confused look. “What?” Eddie saw Venom heave a little, dropping completely onto Eddie’s shoulder. 

 

When they glanced back up at Eddie, their silky white eyes were filled with emotion, a sort of anticipation.

 

**_“We are about to have a child, Eddie.”_ **


End file.
